November 24, 2025 • 36 mins
Your body hasn’t just “stopped working” after 40 - your biology has changed the rules. In today's episode I unpack the five hidden drivers behind stubborn midlife weight gain and show you how to work with your hormones, not against them. From silent inflammation to cortisol spikes, poor sleep, gut shifts, and insulin resistance, I map out practical steps that make weight loss feel possible again.
• the myth of “eat less, move more” failing after 40 due to hormonal shifts
• inflammation as a key driver and how to lower it with food choices
• cortisol’s impact on belly fat and how to set boundaries and rest
• sleep as a metabolic tool and simple night routines that work
• gut changes, fibre-first strategies, and smart use of probiotics
• insulin resistance signs and fixes with protein, strength, and meal timing
• why personalisation beats one-size-fits-all plans
If your clothes feel tighter despite “doing everything right,” this guide gives you a clear path: nourish, don’t punish; slow down to speed up; personalise your plan. Ready for support from someone that understands the complexity of female hormones after 40? Book the free Peri Weight Loss Assessment below, follow the podcast, and share this episode with a friend who needs a science-backed reset. Your midlife metabolism can thrive—let’s get you there.
Are you a woman feeling stressed, flat and experiencing the challenges of perimenopause or menopause?
It’s time to reclaim your youthful energy, radiance and self-assurance (and your ideal weight).
I’m here to help with my proven method.
Here's how I can support you -
1. Hit your health and wellbeing goals this year, balance your hormones and lose weight with your own personalised protocol, based on your body's biochemistry. Sounds awesome right!! Book a free 30 minute Peri Weight Loss Assessment with me so we can discuss your health and wellbeing goals and also see how I might be able to support you. Book your call here.
2. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @the.perimenopause.path
3. Join the waitlist for my innovative NEW 8 week group program, In Your Skin™️, for women in perimenopause and post-menopause who want effective solutions to manage skin changes at this time of life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Autumn Podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and ageing so
that you can be ageless andawesome in your 40s, 50s, and
beyond.
(00:20):
The Ageless and Awesome Podcastis dedicated to helping women
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset, and outrageousconfidence.
Hit subscribe or follow now andlet's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, and welcometo this week's episode of the
Ageless and Awesome Podcast.
(00:42):
I'm Susie Garden, Perimenopausenaturopath, weight loss
nutritionist, and fellow womanwho's navigating this wild
hormonal transition with you.
And today we're diving into oneof the most frustrating topics
for women over 40.
This makes up the majority of mywork, which is weight, helping
(01:02):
women manage weight gain.
And the thing is, I haveconversations with women every
single day about this because Ido periight loss assessments.
And the big question is why am Igaining weight?
I am not eating more.
I'm exercising like I alwayshave.
I haven't changed anything.
(01:24):
And you know, the responseyou'll often get from other
people, mostly men, I have tosay, uh, is just eat less, just
exercise more.
Try intermittent fasting, try,you know, some other kind of
fad.
And intermittent fasting has itsplace.
It's not necessarily for weightloss in women over 40.
(01:45):
I will just put that caveatthere.
And please know, if this is youhaving this constant frustration
of gaining weight and gainingweight, and you just don't know
what to do, please know you arenot alone.
Uh, and more importantly,there's absolutely nothing wrong
with you.
Weight gain in your 40s and your50s is not about willpower.
(02:06):
It's not about calories, it'snot about steps, it's not about
discipline, it's about biologyand the changes happening inside
your hormones, your metabolism,your nervous system.
It's it's a whole scene, ladies.
It's a whole scene.
But here's the good news (02:24):
once you know what's driving it, you
can start to fix it.
And today I'm gonna walk youthrough the five hidden causes
of weight gain after 40 thatmost women are never told about.
And these are the exact areas Iassess and work with inside the
GLOBE protocol in my one-to-onework, because when you fix the
(02:48):
root causes, your body willfinally let go of that excess
weight.
Whether it's five kilos, whetherit's 35 kilos, there is a plan,
there is a strategy you can use.
So let's get into it.
So the hidden cause number one,absolute number one, is
inflammation.
(03:08):
And inflammation is probably thebiggest and most overlooked
driver of weight gain duringperimenopause and menopause.
And now you might be thinking,but I'm not sick, I'm not
healthy, I don't feel inflamed.
And this is the thinginflammation isn't always
dramatic.
Most often, actually, it'ssilent, it's simmering away
(03:32):
underneath the surface.
You may have no symptoms ofinflammation, or you might have
some joint pain, you might havesome brain fog, you might have
some bloating, you might havefatigue.
Um and inflammation increasesafter 40 because estrogen is
anti-inflammatory.
(03:52):
So as estrogen declines, um, welose some of its
anti-inflammatory protection.
Estrogen actually helps regulateour immune system and keep
inflammation in check.
So when estrogen fluctuates,which it does wildly when you're
in perimenopause, inflammationoften rises.
(04:13):
And of course, postmenopause,your inflammation is generally
quite low.
So, you know, that inflammationwill be there.
And we know that inflammation isthe root cause of pretty much
every physical and mental healthcondition that we as humans can
get.
So it is really, reallyimportant.
(04:34):
Um, and what how inflammationkind of influences weight is on
a number of different factors.
It influences the effectivenessof our insulin, it influences
leptin, which is our fullnesshormone, it influences our
thyroid hormones.
All of these affect metabolism,can slow it down.
(04:58):
Uh, it also activates yourstress pathways.
This is inflammation, activatesyour stress pathways, your
hunger hormones, and slows downhow efficiently you burn fat.
And you might notice, and a lotof women say this to me is that
they feel puffy.
They have a puffy face.
I had one lady I worked with whohad said to me she felt bloated
(05:20):
all over and she was referringto this puffiness.
And I think within a week ofbeing on the Globe Protocol, she
was like, Oh, the puffiness hadgone because we'd reduced the
inflammation quite significantlyin her.
So many women describe it asfeeling puffy, uh, feeling like
they're retaining water easily,they're gaining weight quickly,
and specifically also that theirclothes feel tighter even if the
(05:43):
scales don't move.
That's inflammation.
And some of the common triggersthat we'll all experience
throughout any stage of ourlife, not just in peri or
postmenopause, common triggersare hidden food intolerances.
And this is I often get peoplecome and say to me, Oh, I'm I'm
lactose intolerant, but I canstill have my flat white.
(06:04):
And that's okay.
If I have anything more thanthat, then I get symptoms.
I'm sorry to tell you, but ifeven if you can like tolerate
from a gastrointestinal point ofview, that one flat white, you
undoubtedly are gonna havelow-level systemic inflammation
happening that is unasymptomatic.
Uh, so you think you'retolerant, but actually your
(06:27):
system's quite inflamed from it.
Alcohol is another big trigger,I think we all know that.
Chronic stress, and many of usdo feel quite stressed at this
time of life.
So that is a big problem, andthat definitely causes
inflammation, poor sleep,another thing that um, as you
can see, is this interrelatedpicture of poor sleep with the
(06:48):
low progesterone of menopauseand also with the lower estrogen
can lead to inflammation, gutissues.
So that's whether you have adiagnosed gut health condition,
like inflammatory bowel disease,for example, or whether you just
have random bloating if you getchronic constipation, chronic di
chronic diarrhea, uh, that's youknow, that's definitely a sign
(07:13):
that something's not right, andyou need to get that checked
out.
Ultra processed foods, thatabsolutely causes inflammation.
In fact, I was reading recently,they seem to be doing some
research at the moment, whichit's beyond me that you actually
need to do research on thisbecause I think it's pretty
obvious that ultra-processedfoods are not good for us.
Um, but yeah, there's there'ssome more recent information
(07:35):
that's come out, I think it wasonly in the last week or two,
saying they think it's probablyone of the biggest killers of
humans, in certainly in America,and generally studies uh in
America generally reflect what'sgoing on in Australia as well.
Um, and environmental toxins canalso, and that you know, you can
be exposed to that just handleif you handle lots of um FPOS
(07:58):
receipts, for example, or youare working in environment such
as being a hairdresser, orfilling up your car all the
time, uh not washing yourproduce well enough.
So environmental toxins areeverywhere and we're exposed to
them unfortunately every day.
So as much as we can to protectourselves from that is is super
(08:21):
helpful.
Um, so how do we deal with this?
Well, a lot of what I do withworking with women uh on
inflammation is not actuallysupplements, it is really food.
And you know, it's not rocketscience.
Although, having said that, I dowork in personalized nutrition.
(08:44):
So it's one thing to eat lots offruits and veggies as a general
piece of advice, but to actuallybe told these are the exact
fruits and veggies that aregoing to work best in your body
to lower inflammation so you canrelease weight, that is gold.
That is fantastic information tohave.
Same with the kinds of proteinsthat you eat.
So definitely having you knowgood whole proteins that are
(09:08):
thoughtfully sourced.
Um, trying to stay away fromfactory farming if you can.
That's ideal to lowerinflammation.
Omega-3 fatty acids, superimportant.
Um, so that is in things likewalnuts, that's in things uh
like fish oil is probably one ofthe biggest places that we will
(09:31):
get our omega-3s from and eatingfresh oily fish.
Uh, but make sure you're gettinggood quality fish oil.
Again, if you if you're gettingyour fish oil from the you know,
the um uh some of those cheaperbrands are not fully tested for
microplastics and radiation andall of those things that we have
in our oceans.
(09:52):
Um, anti-inflammatory eatingalso is low sugar or as as low
as you can get it.
So getting rid of sugar in yourtea and your coffee, getting rid
of soft drinks, getting rid ofum, you know, again, processed
foods are generally full ofsugar.
I know this says this is justgloom and doom, isn't it?
But honestly, once you switchand you start eating lots of
(10:15):
fresh, healthy food, you don'tactually want sugar.
You realize how bad you feelwhen you eat it.
Um, minimal alcohol is ideal.
And the great thing is there aresome fantastic alcohol
substitutes on the market ifyou're in like that social
environment where you want tofeel included and not like
(10:37):
you're kind of like, I don'tknow, for some people, peer
pressure to drink is a bigthing, even at in our age, you
know, in our 40s and 50s.
Um, but even like switching tosoda water with a slice of lemon
or lime in it, um, makes amassive difference.
Or balancing out alcoholconsumption with water
consumption uh helps a lot.
(10:58):
And whole foods over packagedfoods all of the as much as you
can.
You cannot out willpowerinflammation, you must address
it physiologically and generallywith food, which is great
because we have to eat, so youmight as well eat in a way that
is gonna be, you know, healingyou.
Um, so let's get on to the nexthidden cause of weight gain over
(11:22):
40.
So, you know what I'm gonna say,probably, don't you?
It's stress and cortisol.
So let's talk about this stress,a massive silent hormone
disruptor for women in peri andpost-menopause.
We talk about cortisol all ofthe time, but here's the key
(11:42):
after 40, your cortisol responsechanges.
Your body becomes more sensitiveto stress with the drop in
estrogen.
You produce more cortisol underthe same stress.
So, whatever stresses you havein your life, if they're
continuing at the same level, sonothing's getting worse, you can
(12:05):
become more sensitive andproduce more cortisol from that
same stress or it takes longerto clear it.
And cortisol loves to store fat,especially around the belly.
That's you know, the old mennowythat we we talk about.
Cortisol increases your bloodsugar, makes you crave, uh, it
(12:27):
increases insulin, it slowsthyroid function.
So, you know, thyroid hormonesare a big party metabolism.
It increases cravings,encourages fat storage, and
disrupts sleep.
This is why so many women say,I've never been a belly fat
person until now.
(12:49):
So, what drives cortisol up?
Overworking, this is a time oflife when you may have to
consider saying no more often toextra projects, things that get
loaded on your plate, whetherit's at work or in your home
life, overworking drivescortisol up.
(13:11):
Undereating, so these prolongedperiods of fasting or going on
calorie control can drivecortisol up.
You know, I still see peoplegetting prescribed, you know,
1200 calorie-a-day diets, andit's just like depending on the
person, it's really notnecessarily a great strategy for
(13:33):
weight loss.
It's not addressing underlyingdrivers, like the five drivers
I'm talking about today.
Um, skipping meals, doing HIITor high intensity exercise too
often gets you in your stressresponse.
Having a lack of downtime, whichis a massive problem now that we
all have our smartphones, we'reall taking work home with us.
(13:55):
Often over the weekend, we'rechecking emails, and maybe I'll
just do a few things here andthere.
It means you're not switchingoff.
And that lack of downtime candrive cortisol up.
If you're constantlymultitasking, if you're sitting
in front of the TV and at thesame time doing something on
your phone, whether it's socialmedia, whether it's, you know,
(14:16):
something for the kids,whatever, that constant
multitasking does drive cortisolup.
Our brains are not really wellwired to do that.
We're much better focusing onone task at a time.
If you've got unresolvedemotional stress, uh, and again,
poor sleep.
That's why sleep is one of thebiggest uh factors I like to
(14:37):
address when I'm working withwomen.
So many women in perimonopauseare living in a chronic cortisol
state without realizing it.
And the fix, well, you know, itdoesn't mean quitting your life.
I mean, life has to go on,right?
Um, but cortisol requiresnourishment.
So nourishing the body, notstarving the body.
(14:59):
Having regular meals, threemeals a day and no snacks is
ideal.
Slower exercise.
That doesn't mean you can't doHIT, but maybe don't do it every
day or at the same level thatyou have been.
Maybe doing more things likeresistance training, maybe doing
Pilates or maybe doing yoga orsomething like that.
(15:21):
So that you're balancing outyour workouts.
Nervous system regulation, andthat can be done using breath
work really easily, settingboundaries, like I mentioned
just before, saying nosometimes.
Um, I remember when I worked incorporate, um having there were
two of us managing Australia, soshe had one half of the country,
(15:46):
she had the other half, and sheleft.
And uh so I was given thenational team, which was a lot
of people with no support.
And they it was just kind oflike, oh, you know, Susie will
do it.
And they just took their timefinding a replacement.
And I remember being at a, Ithink it was an end-of-year
function with my manager, and wewere just talking, and I ended
(16:07):
up just bursting into tears.
It was so embarrassing.
But he was really lovely and andand fantastic at listening to
me.
But he, you know, having to doum huge numbers of performance
reviews at the end of the year,having to do all of the extra
travel.
And I just kept saying yesbecause I thought, oh yeah, you
know, I was a good girl, I'd towthe company line and do the
(16:27):
right thing by the company.
Um, at the end of the day, itdidn't work for me.
Probably wasn't great for mypeople that I was managing as
well.
They were not getting the bestof me.
So having boundaries, and Idefinitely, if I was in that
same role today, I woulddefinitely be speaking up way
more and not just taking oneverything because I thought it
(16:48):
was the right thing to do ininverted commas.
But also resting.
A lot of women feel guilt aroundrest.
We know, you know, it's such athing when people ask how you
are, it's like, oh, I'm so busy,I'm so busy.
It's not something we say, oh,I've just had the most relaxing
weekend.
It's not necessarily somethingthat is admired, it's admired to
(17:10):
be busy, not necessarily to beresting.
I know in Australia we have weoften will correlate that with
laziness, but rest is superimportant.
Um, and but even all of thosethings I just mentioned, this is
the part most women skip.
Um, they're still, you know,trying to do the things they
(17:32):
used to do in their 30s, andthat's why they hit a wall.
So again, in when I'm workingwith women one-on-one, cortisol
regulation is is one of it'ssuch an important thing to
address because once cortisolsettles, weight loss becomes
possible again.
And even, you know, when I'mworking with people on their
nutrition protocols for thefirst two weeks, there's no
(17:53):
exercise that gets your heartabove 100.
And that's because we want toreduce the cortisol.
So it is really important.
It is really important.
Um, hidden cause number three,poor sleep.
I've mentioned that already inthe inflammation section and in
the cortisol.
It's and now it gets its veryown section of this podcast is
(18:14):
poor sleep.
Sleep is one of your mostpowerful metabolic tools and one
of the first casualties ofperimenopause.
And many of us have been there.
The the restlessness, tossingand turning, being hot, um,
waking up in a pool of sweat inthe middle of the night, wired,
(18:36):
waking up between two and three,exhausted at three o'clock in
the afternoon.
And here's why sleep is socrucial for weight loss because
even one night of poor sleepraises cortisol, it increases
your hunger hormones, it reducesyour fullness hormone, leptin,
(18:57):
it slows insulin sensitivity orreduces uh insulin sensitivity,
increases cravings for sugar andcarbs, and can slow fat burning
by up to 30%.
That's crazy, right?
Also, it messes with yourmotivation, with your mood, and
that can affect your foodchoices as well.
(19:18):
So the reason sleep becomesharder after 40 is, I mean, the
fluctuating estrogen and the lowprogesterone is definitely a big
part of it.
Blood sugar instability is alsooften when um people are waking
during the night, it's becausetheir blood sugar has dropped
and they've become a littlehypoglycemic.
So the body wakes you as asafety.
(19:39):
Um, nighttime adrenaline spikes.
I spoke about this last week.
Um, so yeah, and you can wake upeven just with a jolt, and then
it can be quite hard to get backto sleep.
Hot flushes, of course, nightsweats, um restless legs,
stress, and just generally yourmidlife responsibility.
(20:02):
So, you know, you're fightingbiology.
This is not about willpower.
And to fix this, um, in theweight loss sort of context, you
must support your sleep byeating enough, especially
protein, um, balancing out bloodsugar, so not having high sugar
snacks at night, um, reducingyour evening cortisol.
(20:25):
So, not perhaps not doing aHession at night at the gym.
Um, that helps.
Trying to have like a wind-downroutine, that helps to just
bring that cortisol down to alower level so that you can
sleep.
Having a good quality magnesiumand magnesium glycinate is one
(20:46):
of my favorite ones for sleep.
Um, there are a couple ofothers, but yeah, the form of
your magnesium matters.
Just getting a magnesiumsupplement.
Some of them are just laxatives,really.
So your form really matters.
It's always good to get someprofessional advice around that.
Um, as I mentioned, having acalming evening window is um
(21:10):
pretty critical.
I mean, we still I think it'sstill called sleep hygiene.
I think we've tried to make itsound a little bit more
attractive by calling it a sleeproutine.
But I'm noticing a lot of myclients are implementing that
even perhaps before they see me,which is amazing.
So there's definitely a lot outthere that gives you ideas of
what you can do for your calmingevening kind of sleep routine or
(21:34):
wind down, but it's superimportant.
It starts really training yourbrain that, oh, now we're going
to sleep.
Okay, if we're doing thesethings.
Limiting alcohol.
We know that alcohol impacts oursleep.
It may help you get to sleepmore easily for some people, um,
but it generally will wake youduring the night.
(21:54):
And I mean, obviously, there'sother impacts of on weight when
you're drinking alcohol, butparticularly for sleep, limiting
or just dropping alcohol as muchas you can will absolutely be
serving you.
And also addressing yourperimenopause symptoms,
obviously, the hot flushes,night sweats, that kind of thing
is, and the low progesteronethat keeps you away can
(22:16):
definitely be addressed.
Sleep is not a luxury.
Sleep is not a luxury, andespecially after 40, it's an
absolute requirement.
And, you know, there are so manythings we can do from a
lifestyle point of view toreally help with that, rather
than just going and gettingsleeping tablets, which, if you
need them, absolutely take them.
(22:38):
But there are so many thingsthat we can do to help support
sleep, and it generally cancorrect very, very quickly with
the right protocol for theindividual.
All right, let's move on.
To hidden cause number four ofweight gain over 40 is gut
health changes.
Because your gut can changedramatically with age and
(22:59):
hormonal shifts.
And guess what?
Your gut is deeply connected toyour weight, to cravings, to
your mood, to inflammation,metabolism, uh, detoxification,
you know, it's there's a lot ofthings that our gut health
influences.
And gut issues can increaseafter 40 because our declining
(23:23):
estrogen can impact ourdigestive enzymes, our stomach
acid, um, our balance of ourmicrobiome, the motility, so the
way our gut sort of pushes foodalong.
Um, and of course, the decliningestrogen affects inflammation,
as I mentioned before.
And this can lead to things likebloating, and that can be
bloating in the upper belly, itcan be bloating in the lower
(23:46):
belly, there can be differentcauses, um, constipation, food
intolerances, perhaps foods thatyou've always been able to eat
suddenly and noticing you'regetting bloating, or pain, or
other uh symptoms, obviously,cravings, increased hunger,
stubborn weight gain, andfatigue are other things that
(24:10):
you know can happen to impactyour gut health.
So, gut bacteria and weight, Ijust wanted to quickly discuss
because there's actually certaingut bacteria that can determine
how many calories you absorb, uhhow much fat you store, how
hungry you feel, how muchinflammation you produce.
And so if your gut bacteriashifts, your weight can too.
(24:34):
Um, and the fix for this can berelatively simple.
It can be more fiber.
We used to probably even fiveyears ago or six years ago, we
used to prescribe a lot ofprobiotics.
But we we're kind of moving awayfrom that now in in the
practitioner world becausegenerally what we know from
(24:56):
research is that the gutmicrobiome that you've developed
in the early parts of your lifeis the best one for you.
So rather than throwing otherprobiotics in there, and and
I'll I'll clarify this a littlebit.
Generally speaking, if you don'thave other health issues, um,
throwing more and those superhigh dose probiotics into your
(25:19):
body isn't necessarily going tohelp.
Um, but increasing your fiber,definitely, because it's, you
know, the prebiotic fiber inparticular will feed your gut
bacteria, feed up your your bugsthat that are there already, and
that is generally going to be abetter fix for you than throwing
in a whole bunch of very highdose probiotics.
(25:40):
Now, I just wanted to clarify umthere are some exceptional
probiotics that have been verywell researched for certain
medical conditions.
So that is a different scenarioto what I'm describing.
What I'm describing is when yougo to the like pharmacy or the
supermarket and buy these like10 billion probiotics that are
just very general that are yeah,not particularly helpful.
(26:06):
Uh so obviously eating moreplant foods.
I think we all need that, andprobably most people need to eat
more plant foods.
The to really impact your guthealth well, you should be
aiming for 30 different plantfoods.
So that's not just that's likefood types per week.
And I eat a lot of plants.
(26:27):
I will generally get my 30different plant foods in a day.
It's unusual for me not to getthem.
So have a think it might beinteresting and fun to actually
write down.
(28:37):
Like do not like a proper fooddiet, but just write down or
have a think about how manydifferent plants have you eaten
and include herbs and spices inthat.
And if you have like a lettucemix, like include all of the
different types of lettuce inthat mix.
But yeah, just have a you know,if you wrote down how many
(28:58):
different foods, sorry,different plants are you eating
in a day with the aim to get atleast 30 different plant foods a
week, it would be reallyinteresting for you to sort of
measure that for yourself.
And if you're falling short,start increasing it.
Uh probiotic foods are great formany people.
(29:20):
If you have gut issues, like I'mtalking specific uh like medical
conditions and things, or ifyou've got unexplained bloating,
like lots of bloating, that kindof thing, then probiotic foods
may not be ideal for you.
Again, that's something todiscuss with your healthcare
practitioner.
Always less alcohol.
I think I've said that in almostevery um uh point here.
(29:44):
Uh reducing sugar, identifyingfood reactions, and you can do
that by just again, food diariesare fantastic for that.
And you a food diary doesn'thave to be anything special.
You can probably download oneonline or you can just get a
piece of paper.
It doesn't have to be too fancy.
Healing uh the gut lining.
So, again, that's something youwould work with a practitioner
(30:06):
to do, and improving digestion.
And even things like chewingyour food really, really well,
smelling your food, looking atyour food, thinking about your
food before you eat it, all ofthat will improve digestion.
Uh, and you know, this is whygut healing is a huge part of
(30:26):
what I do with my clients uh andin the Globe Protocol.
That's because without a good,healthy gut, you're fighting an
uphill battle with weight.
So, my final kind of pointtoday, uh, in terms of the fifth
hidden cause of weight gain over40, is insulin resistance.
And it's a big one.
(30:47):
Um, if you've gained weightafter 40, especially around the
belly, it's probably got someinvolvement.
Um, and insulin resistance, ifyou're not sure what that is,
it's when your uh the insulinthat you're producing isn't
working particularly well.
So your body starts to producemore and more of it because it's
(31:09):
like, oh, hang on, I've stillgot more glucose in the blood,
and so I've got to produce moreand I've got to produce more.
And the thing is, insulin is afat storage hormone as well as
many other things.
So more insulin circulatingequals more stored fat,
especially around the belly.
And why does this happen after40?
Because estrogen drops, uh, ourmuscle mass decreases, and many
(31:31):
of you in peri may be noticingthat, that either your muscle
mass is disappearing.
I certainly notice that formyself.
Um, and it's quite challengingto maintain what you have.
Stress increases, and that, as Imentioned before, does
definitely help with yourdysregulation of your blood
sugar and insulin.
Sleep becomes disrupted,inflammation rises, and blood
(31:54):
sugar becomes unstable.
And you can be eating.
The same foods you've alwayseaten, but suddenly start
gaining weight from them becauseof this insulin resistance,
which we know starts from about40 onwards, definitely over 50.
That I'm not saying you becomeinsulin resistant completely,
but it and an elevated degree ofinsulin resistance.
(32:18):
And this is why the old eatless, move more approach
completely falls apart after 40.
So some of the symptoms ofinsulin resistance will be belly
fat, afternoon energy crashes,intense carb cravings, brain
fog, feeling a bit shaky whenyou're hungry, slow resistant
(32:38):
weight loss, frequent wakingduring the night and feeling
tired after you've eaten.
And you can absolutely fix this.
I find even clients withdiabetes that I work with, we
get some really goodimprovements in their blood
sugar level over time.
And you can reverse this insulinresistance by having protein at
(32:59):
every meal, having those five tosix hour fasting periods between
meals.
So uh between so that'sbasically three meals a day, no
snacks.
Strength training to build moremuscle, reducing your sugar
intake, um regulating yourstress, so stress management,
consistent meal timing, eatingenough.
(33:20):
Yes, enough, not starvingyourself, walking after meals,
that's actually a really goodone.
Um, to walk after food ratherthan before really helps to
utilize that glucose that you'vejust eaten in an efficient
manner.
Um, so really managing yourinsulin, that's a fantastic goal
(33:43):
to have, and it will serve youwell for the rest of your life
and reduce your chance ofdeveloping diabetes.
And so that's something, again,that I really work with uh
people on in my program.
So there you have it.
There's the five hidden causesof weight gain after 40.
And I'm sure there are more.
I just figured to fit it in apodcast, I just stick with my
(34:04):
top five.
So inflammation, stress, andcortisol, poor sleep, gut health
changes, and insulin resistance.
So please, if you've beenstruggling with your weight,
please hear me when I say this.
It is not your fault.
You aren't lazy, you aren'tundisciplined, you're not doing
(34:26):
it wrong.
You've been dealing with a veryreal hormonal and metabolic
shift.
And it requires a differentstrategy.
And once you know the rootcause, your specific root cause,
perhaps you might have anelement of all of these that
I've just mentioned, or you mayhave others.
Um, but once you know what it isfor you as an individual and you
(34:48):
follow your personalizedprotocol, your body responds
quickly.
And I see it every single weekin the GLOBE protocol.
So if you're ready for a clearplan tailored for you, expert
guidance, accountability, andsupport that understands the
complexity of female hormonesafter 40, then I invite you to
(35:12):
book a free period lossassessment with me before
Christmas.
Particularly if you're wantingto get started in January, uh, I
definitely think you shouldstart thinking about it now
because it is my busiest time.
Uh so the peri weight lossassessment is like a half-hour
chat where I uh find out alittle bit more about what's
(35:33):
going on with you, yoursymptoms, your patterns, your
goals, and map out some bestnext steps for you.
Uh, the link is in the shownotes.
Um, and so yeah, please feelfree to book that in.
So thank you for spending thistime with me today.
If you found this episodehelpful, please follow the show,
(35:54):
leave a quick review, or sharethis episode with a friend who
feels like her body has suddenlychanged overnight.
You can feel like yourselfagain.
And I'm here to guide you everystep of the way.
So until next week, take careand I will see you next Tuesday
with a new episode.
(36:15):
Thanks so much for joining me onthe Ageless and Awesome podcast.
If you would like this episode,please make sure you click the
little plus button if you're onApple Podcasts, or the follow
button if you're on Spotify sothat you get each new episode
delivered to you every singleweek.
If you feel like writing me afive star review, you would
(36:36):
absolutely make my day.
If you found this episoderesonated with you, head over to
my Instagram and DM me at thePerry Menopause Park.
I would love to connect withyou.
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Autumn Podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and ageing so
that you can be ageless andawesome in your 40s, 50s, and
beyond.
(00:20):
The Ageless and Awesome Podcastis dedicated to helping women
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset, and outrageousconfidence.
Hit subscribe or follow now andlet's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, and welcometo this week's episode of the
Ageless and Awesome Podcast.
(00:42):
I'm Susie Garden, Perimenopausenaturopath, weight loss
nutritionist, and fellow womanwho's navigating this wild
hormonal transition with you.
And today we're diving into oneof the most frustrating topics
for women over 40.
This makes up the majority of mywork, which is weight, helping
(01:02):
women manage weight gain.
And the thing is, I haveconversations with women every
single day about this because Ido periight loss assessments.
And the big question is why am Igaining weight?
I am not eating more.
I'm exercising like I alwayshave.
I haven't changed anything.
(01:24):
And you know, the responseyou'll often get from other
people, mostly men, I have tosay, uh, is just eat less, just
exercise more.
Try intermittent fasting, try,you know, some other kind of
fad.
And intermittent fasting has itsplace.
It's not necessarily for weightloss in women over 40.
(01:45):
I will just put that caveatthere.
And please know, if this is youhaving this constant frustration
of gaining weight and gainingweight, and you just don't know
what to do, please know you arenot alone.
Uh, and more importantly,there's absolutely nothing wrong
with you.
Weight gain in your 40s and your50s is not about willpower.
(02:06):
It's not about calories, it'snot about steps, it's not about
discipline, it's about biologyand the changes happening inside
your hormones, your metabolism,your nervous system.
It's it's a whole scene, ladies.
It's a whole scene.
But here's the good news (02:24):
once you know what's driving it, you
can start to fix it.
And today I'm gonna walk youthrough the five hidden causes
of weight gain after 40 thatmost women are never told about.
And these are the exact areas Iassess and work with inside the
GLOBE protocol in my one-to-onework, because when you fix the
(02:48):
root causes, your body willfinally let go of that excess
weight.
Whether it's five kilos, whetherit's 35 kilos, there is a plan,
there is a strategy you can use.
So let's get into it.
So the hidden cause number one,absolute number one, is
inflammation.
(03:08):
And inflammation is probably thebiggest and most overlooked
driver of weight gain duringperimenopause and menopause.
And now you might be thinking,but I'm not sick, I'm not
healthy, I don't feel inflamed.
And this is the thinginflammation isn't always
dramatic.
Most often, actually, it'ssilent, it's simmering away
(03:32):
underneath the surface.
You may have no symptoms ofinflammation, or you might have
some joint pain, you might havesome brain fog, you might have
some bloating, you might havefatigue.
Um and inflammation increasesafter 40 because estrogen is
anti-inflammatory.
(03:52):
So as estrogen declines, um, welose some of its
anti-inflammatory protection.
Estrogen actually helps regulateour immune system and keep
inflammation in check.
So when estrogen fluctuates,which it does wildly when you're
in perimenopause, inflammationoften rises.
(04:13):
And of course, postmenopause,your inflammation is generally
quite low.
So, you know, that inflammationwill be there.
And we know that inflammation isthe root cause of pretty much
every physical and mental healthcondition that we as humans can
get.
So it is really, reallyimportant.
(04:34):
Um, and what how inflammationkind of influences weight is on
a number of different factors.
It influences the effectivenessof our insulin, it influences
leptin, which is our fullnesshormone, it influences our
thyroid hormones.
All of these affect metabolism,can slow it down.
(04:58):
Uh, it also activates yourstress pathways.
This is inflammation, activatesyour stress pathways, your
hunger hormones, and slows downhow efficiently you burn fat.
And you might notice, and a lotof women say this to me is that
they feel puffy.
They have a puffy face.
I had one lady I worked with whohad said to me she felt bloated
(05:20):
all over and she was referringto this puffiness.
And I think within a week ofbeing on the Globe Protocol, she
was like, Oh, the puffiness hadgone because we'd reduced the
inflammation quite significantlyin her.
So many women describe it asfeeling puffy, uh, feeling like
they're retaining water easily,they're gaining weight quickly,
and specifically also that theirclothes feel tighter even if the
(05:43):
scales don't move.
That's inflammation.
And some of the common triggersthat we'll all experience
throughout any stage of ourlife, not just in peri or
postmenopause, common triggersare hidden food intolerances.
And this is I often get peoplecome and say to me, Oh, I'm I'm
lactose intolerant, but I canstill have my flat white.
(06:04):
And that's okay.
If I have anything more thanthat, then I get symptoms.
I'm sorry to tell you, but ifeven if you can like tolerate
from a gastrointestinal point ofview, that one flat white, you
undoubtedly are gonna havelow-level systemic inflammation
happening that is unasymptomatic.
Uh, so you think you'retolerant, but actually your
(06:27):
system's quite inflamed from it.
Alcohol is another big trigger,I think we all know that.
Chronic stress, and many of usdo feel quite stressed at this
time of life.
So that is a big problem, andthat definitely causes
inflammation, poor sleep,another thing that um, as you
can see, is this interrelatedpicture of poor sleep with the
(06:48):
low progesterone of menopauseand also with the lower estrogen
can lead to inflammation, gutissues.
So that's whether you have adiagnosed gut health condition,
like inflammatory bowel disease,for example, or whether you just
have random bloating if you getchronic constipation, chronic di
chronic diarrhea, uh, that's youknow, that's definitely a sign
(07:13):
that something's not right, andyou need to get that checked
out.
Ultra processed foods, thatabsolutely causes inflammation.
In fact, I was reading recently,they seem to be doing some
research at the moment, whichit's beyond me that you actually
need to do research on thisbecause I think it's pretty
obvious that ultra-processedfoods are not good for us.
Um, but yeah, there's there'ssome more recent information
(07:35):
that's come out, I think it wasonly in the last week or two,
saying they think it's probablyone of the biggest killers of
humans, in certainly in America,and generally studies uh in
America generally reflect what'sgoing on in Australia as well.
Um, and environmental toxins canalso, and that you know, you can
be exposed to that just handleif you handle lots of um FPOS
(07:58):
receipts, for example, or youare working in environment such
as being a hairdresser, orfilling up your car all the
time, uh not washing yourproduce well enough.
So environmental toxins areeverywhere and we're exposed to
them unfortunately every day.
So as much as we can to protectourselves from that is is super
(08:21):
helpful.
Um, so how do we deal with this?
Well, a lot of what I do withworking with women uh on
inflammation is not actuallysupplements, it is really food.
And you know, it's not rocketscience.
Although, having said that, I dowork in personalized nutrition.
(08:44):
So it's one thing to eat lots offruits and veggies as a general
piece of advice, but to actuallybe told these are the exact
fruits and veggies that aregoing to work best in your body
to lower inflammation so you canrelease weight, that is gold.
That is fantastic information tohave.
Same with the kinds of proteinsthat you eat.
So definitely having you knowgood whole proteins that are
(09:08):
thoughtfully sourced.
Um, trying to stay away fromfactory farming if you can.
That's ideal to lowerinflammation.
Omega-3 fatty acids, superimportant.
Um, so that is in things likewalnuts, that's in things uh
like fish oil is probably one ofthe biggest places that we will
(09:31):
get our omega-3s from and eatingfresh oily fish.
Uh, but make sure you're gettinggood quality fish oil.
Again, if you if you're gettingyour fish oil from the you know,
the um uh some of those cheaperbrands are not fully tested for
microplastics and radiation andall of those things that we have
in our oceans.
(09:52):
Um, anti-inflammatory eatingalso is low sugar or as as low
as you can get it.
So getting rid of sugar in yourtea and your coffee, getting rid
of soft drinks, getting rid ofum, you know, again, processed
foods are generally full ofsugar.
I know this says this is justgloom and doom, isn't it?
But honestly, once you switchand you start eating lots of
(10:15):
fresh, healthy food, you don'tactually want sugar.
You realize how bad you feelwhen you eat it.
Um, minimal alcohol is ideal.
And the great thing is there aresome fantastic alcohol
substitutes on the market ifyou're in like that social
environment where you want tofeel included and not like
(10:37):
you're kind of like, I don'tknow, for some people, peer
pressure to drink is a bigthing, even at in our age, you
know, in our 40s and 50s.
Um, but even like switching tosoda water with a slice of lemon
or lime in it, um, makes amassive difference.
Or balancing out alcoholconsumption with water
consumption uh helps a lot.
(10:58):
And whole foods over packagedfoods all of the as much as you
can.
You cannot out willpowerinflammation, you must address
it physiologically and generallywith food, which is great
because we have to eat, so youmight as well eat in a way that
is gonna be, you know, healingyou.
Um, so let's get on to the nexthidden cause of weight gain over
(11:22):
40.
So, you know what I'm gonna say,probably, don't you?
It's stress and cortisol.
So let's talk about this stress,a massive silent hormone
disruptor for women in peri andpost-menopause.
We talk about cortisol all ofthe time, but here's the key
(11:42):
after 40, your cortisol responsechanges.
Your body becomes more sensitiveto stress with the drop in
estrogen.
You produce more cortisol underthe same stress.
So, whatever stresses you havein your life, if they're
continuing at the same level, sonothing's getting worse, you can
(12:05):
become more sensitive andproduce more cortisol from that
same stress or it takes longerto clear it.
And cortisol loves to store fat,especially around the belly.
That's you know, the old mennowythat we we talk about.
Cortisol increases your bloodsugar, makes you crave, uh, it
(12:27):
increases insulin, it slowsthyroid function.
So, you know, thyroid hormonesare a big party metabolism.
It increases cravings,encourages fat storage, and
disrupts sleep.
This is why so many women say,I've never been a belly fat
person until now.
(12:49):
So, what drives cortisol up?
Overworking, this is a time oflife when you may have to
consider saying no more often toextra projects, things that get
loaded on your plate, whetherit's at work or in your home
life, overworking drivescortisol up.
(13:11):
Undereating, so these prolongedperiods of fasting or going on
calorie control can drivecortisol up.
You know, I still see peoplegetting prescribed, you know,
1200 calorie-a-day diets, andit's just like depending on the
person, it's really notnecessarily a great strategy for
(13:33):
weight loss.
It's not addressing underlyingdrivers, like the five drivers
I'm talking about today.
Um, skipping meals, doing HIITor high intensity exercise too
often gets you in your stressresponse.
Having a lack of downtime, whichis a massive problem now that we
all have our smartphones, we'reall taking work home with us.
(13:55):
Often over the weekend, we'rechecking emails, and maybe I'll
just do a few things here andthere.
It means you're not switchingoff.
And that lack of downtime candrive cortisol up.
If you're constantlymultitasking, if you're sitting
in front of the TV and at thesame time doing something on
your phone, whether it's socialmedia, whether it's, you know,
(14:16):
something for the kids,whatever, that constant
multitasking does drive cortisolup.
Our brains are not really wellwired to do that.
We're much better focusing onone task at a time.
If you've got unresolvedemotional stress, uh, and again,
poor sleep.
That's why sleep is one of thebiggest uh factors I like to
(14:37):
address when I'm working withwomen.
So many women in perimonopauseare living in a chronic cortisol
state without realizing it.
And the fix, well, you know, itdoesn't mean quitting your life.
I mean, life has to go on,right?
Um, but cortisol requiresnourishment.
So nourishing the body, notstarving the body.
(14:59):
Having regular meals, threemeals a day and no snacks is
ideal.
Slower exercise.
That doesn't mean you can't doHIT, but maybe don't do it every
day or at the same level thatyou have been.
Maybe doing more things likeresistance training, maybe doing
Pilates or maybe doing yoga orsomething like that.
(15:21):
So that you're balancing outyour workouts.
Nervous system regulation, andthat can be done using breath
work really easily, settingboundaries, like I mentioned
just before, saying nosometimes.
Um, I remember when I worked incorporate, um having there were
two of us managing Australia, soshe had one half of the country,
(15:46):
she had the other half, and sheleft.
And uh so I was given thenational team, which was a lot
of people with no support.
And they it was just kind oflike, oh, you know, Susie will
do it.
And they just took their timefinding a replacement.
And I remember being at a, Ithink it was an end-of-year
function with my manager, and wewere just talking, and I ended
(16:07):
up just bursting into tears.
It was so embarrassing.
But he was really lovely and andand fantastic at listening to
me.
But he, you know, having to doum huge numbers of performance
reviews at the end of the year,having to do all of the extra
travel.
And I just kept saying yesbecause I thought, oh yeah, you
know, I was a good girl, I'd towthe company line and do the
(16:27):
right thing by the company.
Um, at the end of the day, itdidn't work for me.
Probably wasn't great for mypeople that I was managing as
well.
They were not getting the bestof me.
So having boundaries, and Idefinitely, if I was in that
same role today, I woulddefinitely be speaking up way
more and not just taking oneverything because I thought it
(16:48):
was the right thing to do ininverted commas.
But also resting.
A lot of women feel guilt aroundrest.
We know, you know, it's such athing when people ask how you
are, it's like, oh, I'm so busy,I'm so busy.
It's not something we say, oh,I've just had the most relaxing
weekend.
It's not necessarily somethingthat is admired, it's admired to
(17:10):
be busy, not necessarily to beresting.
I know in Australia we have weoften will correlate that with
laziness, but rest is superimportant.
Um, and but even all of thosethings I just mentioned, this is
the part most women skip.
Um, they're still, you know,trying to do the things they
(17:32):
used to do in their 30s, andthat's why they hit a wall.
So again, in when I'm workingwith women one-on-one, cortisol
regulation is is one of it'ssuch an important thing to
address because once cortisolsettles, weight loss becomes
possible again.
And even, you know, when I'mworking with people on their
nutrition protocols for thefirst two weeks, there's no
(17:53):
exercise that gets your heartabove 100.
And that's because we want toreduce the cortisol.
So it is really important.
It is really important.
Um, hidden cause number three,poor sleep.
I've mentioned that already inthe inflammation section and in
the cortisol.
It's and now it gets its veryown section of this podcast is
(18:14):
poor sleep.
Sleep is one of your mostpowerful metabolic tools and one
of the first casualties ofperimenopause.
And many of us have been there.
The the restlessness, tossingand turning, being hot, um,
waking up in a pool of sweat inthe middle of the night, wired,
(18:36):
waking up between two and three,exhausted at three o'clock in
the afternoon.
And here's why sleep is socrucial for weight loss because
even one night of poor sleepraises cortisol, it increases
your hunger hormones, it reducesyour fullness hormone, leptin,
(18:57):
it slows insulin sensitivity orreduces uh insulin sensitivity,
increases cravings for sugar andcarbs, and can slow fat burning
by up to 30%.
That's crazy, right?
Also, it messes with yourmotivation, with your mood, and
that can affect your foodchoices as well.
(19:18):
So the reason sleep becomesharder after 40 is, I mean, the
fluctuating estrogen and the lowprogesterone is definitely a big
part of it.
Blood sugar instability is alsooften when um people are waking
during the night, it's becausetheir blood sugar has dropped
and they've become a littlehypoglycemic.
So the body wakes you as asafety.
(19:39):
Um, nighttime adrenaline spikes.
I spoke about this last week.
Um, so yeah, and you can wake upeven just with a jolt, and then
it can be quite hard to get backto sleep.
Hot flushes, of course, nightsweats, um restless legs,
stress, and just generally yourmidlife responsibility.
(20:02):
So, you know, you're fightingbiology.
This is not about willpower.
And to fix this, um, in theweight loss sort of context, you
must support your sleep byeating enough, especially
protein, um, balancing out bloodsugar, so not having high sugar
snacks at night, um, reducingyour evening cortisol.
(20:25):
So, not perhaps not doing aHession at night at the gym.
Um, that helps.
Trying to have like a wind-downroutine, that helps to just
bring that cortisol down to alower level so that you can
sleep.
Having a good quality magnesiumand magnesium glycinate is one
(20:46):
of my favorite ones for sleep.
Um, there are a couple ofothers, but yeah, the form of
your magnesium matters.
Just getting a magnesiumsupplement.
Some of them are just laxatives,really.
So your form really matters.
It's always good to get someprofessional advice around that.
Um, as I mentioned, having acalming evening window is um
(21:10):
pretty critical.
I mean, we still I think it'sstill called sleep hygiene.
I think we've tried to make itsound a little bit more
attractive by calling it a sleeproutine.
But I'm noticing a lot of myclients are implementing that
even perhaps before they see me,which is amazing.
So there's definitely a lot outthere that gives you ideas of
what you can do for your calmingevening kind of sleep routine or
(21:34):
wind down, but it's superimportant.
It starts really training yourbrain that, oh, now we're going
to sleep.
Okay, if we're doing thesethings.
Limiting alcohol.
We know that alcohol impacts oursleep.
It may help you get to sleepmore easily for some people, um,
but it generally will wake youduring the night.
(21:54):
And I mean, obviously, there'sother impacts of on weight when
you're drinking alcohol, butparticularly for sleep, limiting
or just dropping alcohol as muchas you can will absolutely be
serving you.
And also addressing yourperimenopause symptoms,
obviously, the hot flushes,night sweats, that kind of thing
is, and the low progesteronethat keeps you away can
(22:16):
definitely be addressed.
Sleep is not a luxury.
Sleep is not a luxury, andespecially after 40, it's an
absolute requirement.
And, you know, there are so manythings we can do from a
lifestyle point of view toreally help with that, rather
than just going and gettingsleeping tablets, which, if you
need them, absolutely take them.
(22:38):
But there are so many thingsthat we can do to help support
sleep, and it generally cancorrect very, very quickly with
the right protocol for theindividual.
All right, let's move on.
To hidden cause number four ofweight gain over 40 is gut
health changes.
Because your gut can changedramatically with age and
(22:59):
hormonal shifts.
And guess what?
Your gut is deeply connected toyour weight, to cravings, to
your mood, to inflammation,metabolism, uh, detoxification,
you know, it's there's a lot ofthings that our gut health
influences.
And gut issues can increaseafter 40 because our declining
(23:23):
estrogen can impact ourdigestive enzymes, our stomach
acid, um, our balance of ourmicrobiome, the motility, so the
way our gut sort of pushes foodalong.
Um, and of course, the decliningestrogen affects inflammation,
as I mentioned before.
And this can lead to things likebloating, and that can be
bloating in the upper belly, itcan be bloating in the lower
(23:46):
belly, there can be differentcauses, um, constipation, food
intolerances, perhaps foods thatyou've always been able to eat
suddenly and noticing you'regetting bloating, or pain, or
other uh symptoms, obviously,cravings, increased hunger,
stubborn weight gain, andfatigue are other things that
(24:10):
you know can happen to impactyour gut health.
So, gut bacteria and weight, Ijust wanted to quickly discuss
because there's actually certaingut bacteria that can determine
how many calories you absorb, uhhow much fat you store, how
hungry you feel, how muchinflammation you produce.
And so if your gut bacteriashifts, your weight can too.
(24:34):
Um, and the fix for this can berelatively simple.
It can be more fiber.
We used to probably even fiveyears ago or six years ago, we
used to prescribe a lot ofprobiotics.
But we we're kind of moving awayfrom that now in in the
practitioner world becausegenerally what we know from
(24:56):
research is that the gutmicrobiome that you've developed
in the early parts of your lifeis the best one for you.
So rather than throwing otherprobiotics in there, and and
I'll I'll clarify this a littlebit.
Generally speaking, if you don'thave other health issues, um,
throwing more and those superhigh dose probiotics into your
(25:19):
body isn't necessarily going tohelp.
Um, but increasing your fiber,definitely, because it's, you
know, the prebiotic fiber inparticular will feed your gut
bacteria, feed up your your bugsthat that are there already, and
that is generally going to be abetter fix for you than throwing
in a whole bunch of very highdose probiotics.
(25:40):
Now, I just wanted to clarify umthere are some exceptional
probiotics that have been verywell researched for certain
medical conditions.
So that is a different scenarioto what I'm describing.
What I'm describing is when yougo to the like pharmacy or the
supermarket and buy these like10 billion probiotics that are
just very general that are yeah,not particularly helpful.
(26:06):
Uh so obviously eating moreplant foods.
I think we all need that, andprobably most people need to eat
more plant foods.
The to really impact your guthealth well, you should be
aiming for 30 different plantfoods.
So that's not just that's likefood types per week.
And I eat a lot of plants.
(26:27):
I will generally get my 30different plant foods in a day.
It's unusual for me not to getthem.
So have a think it might beinteresting and fun to actually
write down.
(28:37):
Like do not like a proper fooddiet, but just write down or
have a think about how manydifferent plants have you eaten
and include herbs and spices inthat.
And if you have like a lettucemix, like include all of the
different types of lettuce inthat mix.
But yeah, just have a you know,if you wrote down how many
(28:58):
different foods, sorry,different plants are you eating
in a day with the aim to get atleast 30 different plant foods a
week, it would be reallyinteresting for you to sort of
measure that for yourself.
And if you're falling short,start increasing it.
Uh probiotic foods are great formany people.
(29:20):
If you have gut issues, like I'mtalking specific uh like medical
conditions and things, or ifyou've got unexplained bloating,
like lots of bloating, that kindof thing, then probiotic foods
may not be ideal for you.
Again, that's something todiscuss with your healthcare
practitioner.
Always less alcohol.
I think I've said that in almostevery um uh point here.
(29:44):
Uh reducing sugar, identifyingfood reactions, and you can do
that by just again, food diariesare fantastic for that.
And you a food diary doesn'thave to be anything special.
You can probably download oneonline or you can just get a
piece of paper.
It doesn't have to be too fancy.
Healing uh the gut lining.
So, again, that's something youwould work with a practitioner
(30:06):
to do, and improving digestion.
And even things like chewingyour food really, really well,
smelling your food, looking atyour food, thinking about your
food before you eat it, all ofthat will improve digestion.
Uh, and you know, this is whygut healing is a huge part of
(30:26):
what I do with my clients uh andin the Globe Protocol.
That's because without a good,healthy gut, you're fighting an
uphill battle with weight.
So, my final kind of pointtoday, uh, in terms of the fifth
hidden cause of weight gain over40, is insulin resistance.
And it's a big one.
(30:47):
Um, if you've gained weightafter 40, especially around the
belly, it's probably got someinvolvement.
Um, and insulin resistance, ifyou're not sure what that is,
it's when your uh the insulinthat you're producing isn't
working particularly well.
So your body starts to producemore and more of it because it's
(31:09):
like, oh, hang on, I've stillgot more glucose in the blood,
and so I've got to produce moreand I've got to produce more.
And the thing is, insulin is afat storage hormone as well as
many other things.
So more insulin circulatingequals more stored fat,
especially around the belly.
And why does this happen after40?
Because estrogen drops, uh, ourmuscle mass decreases, and many
(31:31):
of you in peri may be noticingthat, that either your muscle
mass is disappearing.
I certainly notice that formyself.
Um, and it's quite challengingto maintain what you have.
Stress increases, and that, as Imentioned before, does
definitely help with yourdysregulation of your blood
sugar and insulin.
Sleep becomes disrupted,inflammation rises, and blood
(31:54):
sugar becomes unstable.
And you can be eating.
The same foods you've alwayseaten, but suddenly start
gaining weight from them becauseof this insulin resistance,
which we know starts from about40 onwards, definitely over 50.
That I'm not saying you becomeinsulin resistant completely,
but it and an elevated degree ofinsulin resistance.
(32:18):
And this is why the old eatless, move more approach
completely falls apart after 40.
So some of the symptoms ofinsulin resistance will be belly
fat, afternoon energy crashes,intense carb cravings, brain
fog, feeling a bit shaky whenyou're hungry, slow resistant
(32:38):
weight loss, frequent wakingduring the night and feeling
tired after you've eaten.
And you can absolutely fix this.
I find even clients withdiabetes that I work with, we
get some really goodimprovements in their blood
sugar level over time.
And you can reverse this insulinresistance by having protein at
(32:59):
every meal, having those five tosix hour fasting periods between
meals.
So uh between so that'sbasically three meals a day, no
snacks.
Strength training to build moremuscle, reducing your sugar
intake, um regulating yourstress, so stress management,
consistent meal timing, eatingenough.
(33:20):
Yes, enough, not starvingyourself, walking after meals,
that's actually a really goodone.
Um, to walk after food ratherthan before really helps to
utilize that glucose that you'vejust eaten in an efficient
manner.
Um, so really managing yourinsulin, that's a fantastic goal
(33:43):
to have, and it will serve youwell for the rest of your life
and reduce your chance ofdeveloping diabetes.
And so that's something, again,that I really work with uh
people on in my program.
So there you have it.
There's the five hidden causesof weight gain after 40.
And I'm sure there are more.
I just figured to fit it in apodcast, I just stick with my
(34:04):
top five.
So inflammation, stress, andcortisol, poor sleep, gut health
changes, and insulin resistance.
So please, if you've beenstruggling with your weight,
please hear me when I say this.
It is not your fault.
You aren't lazy, you aren'tundisciplined, you're not doing
(34:26):
it wrong.
You've been dealing with a veryreal hormonal and metabolic
shift.
And it requires a differentstrategy.
And once you know the rootcause, your specific root cause,
perhaps you might have anelement of all of these that
I've just mentioned, or you mayhave others.
Um, but once you know what it isfor you as an individual and you
(34:48):
follow your personalizedprotocol, your body responds
quickly.
And I see it every single weekin the GLOBE protocol.
So if you're ready for a clearplan tailored for you, expert
guidance, accountability, andsupport that understands the
complexity of female hormonesafter 40, then I invite you to
(35:12):
book a free period lossassessment with me before
Christmas.
Particularly if you're wantingto get started in January, uh, I
definitely think you shouldstart thinking about it now
because it is my busiest time.
Uh so the peri weight lossassessment is like a half-hour
chat where I uh find out alittle bit more about what's
(35:33):
going on with you, yoursymptoms, your patterns, your
goals, and map out some bestnext steps for you.
Uh, the link is in the shownotes.
Um, and so yeah, please feelfree to book that in.
So thank you for spending thistime with me today.
If you found this episodehelpful, please follow the show,
(35:54):
leave a quick review, or sharethis episode with a friend who
feels like her body has suddenlychanged overnight.
You can feel like yourselfagain.
And I'm here to guide you everystep of the way.
So until next week, take careand I will see you next Tuesday
with a new episode.
(36:15):
Thanks so much for joining me onthe Ageless and Awesome podcast.
If you would like this episode,please make sure you click the
little plus button if you're onApple Podcasts, or the follow
button if you're on Spotify sothat you get each new episode
delivered to you every singleweek.
If you feel like writing me afive star review, you would
(36:36):
absolutely make my day.
If you found this episoderesonated with you, head over to
my Instagram and DM me at thePerry Menopause Park.
I would love to connect withyou.
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