November 10, 2025 • 34 mins
Ever felt like you’re doing “everything right” and still gaining weight? Let’s flip the script on midlife metabolism. I unpack why eating less and exercising more can backfire in peri and post-menopause, and how to send your body the safety signals it needs to release stored fat. As hormones shift, insulin sensitivity drops, cortisol rises, sleep can be poor, and muscle mass slides. The old calorie-in, calorie-out model ignores that your body is a chemistry lab, not a calculator.
I walk through the real levers that work after 40: getting enough protein to protect and build lean mass, choosing quality carbohydrates to support thyroid and adrenal function, embracing healthy fats for satiety and hormone production, and focusing on micronutrient-rich, minimally processed food. We talk clean protein powders, why ultra-low fat and ultra-low carb often backfire, and how three meals with 5 to 6 hours between can steady insulin and activate the migrating motor complex for better gut health.
You’ll also get a clear six-step reset: stop undereating, start meals with protein, strength train with progressive overload, guard sleep, calm your nervous system, heal digestion, and then fine-tune hormones. I share a simple day on a plate that’s satisfying and realistic, plus practical cues to measure progress beyond the scales. The goal isn’t punishment; it’s creating a body that feels safe, nourished, strong, and ready to burn fuel efficiently.
If you’re tired of the yo-yo and ready for a saner approach, this conversation is your permission slip to eat more and thrive. Subscribe or follow for weekly guidance, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help more women find the show. Ready for tailored support? Book a free peri-weight loss assessment via the link in the show notes.
Are you a woman feeling stressed, flat and experiencing the challenges of perimenopause?
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 aging so that
you can be ageless and autumn inyour 40s, 50s, and beyond.
(00:20):
The Ageless and Autumn 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 today's episode of the
Ageless and Awesome Podcast.
(00:41):
I'm Susie Garden, your host, andthis is my first kind of new
episode in a few weeks.
I've just had a few weeks whereI haven't been able to get to
putting out a new app, so I'mreally sorry about that.
I also just want to let you knowfor those that are regular
listeners, you've heard metalking about launching a new
program for skin in peri andpost-menopause, and I'm super
(01:03):
excited to be doing that.
Now I have had to just postponethat to early next year just
because this is a really busytime of year for me.
And I kind of probably got a bitoverexcited and I wasn't really
thinking about the fact thatthis is a really busy time.
Lots of people, as you come outof winter, decide that they want
(01:23):
to, you know, achieve theirgoals for the year, um,
particularly if you've beenhibernating a little bit, not
moving the body, perhapsoverindulging a little bit, and
summer is around the corner.
So, yes, I've been super busywith um peri weight loss
assessment calls and enrollingpeople in my program, the Glow
Protocol.
(01:44):
So I've decided because I wantthe skin program to be, you
know, awesome, I need to put alittle bit more time into it.
So uh keep an eye out for that.
I'm hoping to launch that inFebruary, March next year when
things kind of quiten down alittle bit.
So if you are interested inbooking a peri weight loss
assessment with me, I've justopened up Fridays because I was
(02:06):
running out of appointments.
So um feel free to book on thelink in the show notes.
If you want to know more aboutwhat uh this is all about, then
go to my website,susegarden.com, and go to uh I
think it's work with me and theglow protocol.
And that will give you a littlebit more information.
(02:26):
Okay, so now that I've got thathousekeeping out of the way,
today I wanted to talk about my,you know, this is one of my
absolute favorite things to talkabout and favorite things to
work with women on is weightloss.
So today is essentially eatmore, burn more, how to reset a
sluggish metabolism in peri andpost-menopause.
(02:50):
And, you know, one of thereasons that I love talking
about this is kind of theopposite to what many women are
told when it comes to weightloss.
Many women are told eat less andexercise more and eat more, burn
more is a little bit of adifferent approach.
(03:11):
And many women are surprisedwhen they realize that I'm not
gonna be talking about caloriecounting when you work with me
on weight loss.
So many of you may haveexperienced this.
You know, you've been eatingless, you've been exercising
more, because you know that'sapparently the formula, and
you're still watching the scalescreep up.
So this episode is hopefullygonna change the way you think
(03:32):
about food, about fat loss, andyour hormones and the
relationship that there isbetween these things.
So let's dive in.
So, firstly, let's talk aboutwhy, for many women, our
metabolism slows down inperimenopause.
So, let's talk about what'sactually going on in your body
(03:53):
during this time.
Your metabolism doesn't justrandomly and magically slow down
because you've had a birthday,it slows because of some very
specific hormonal shifts thatchange how your body uses
energy.
Both estrogen and progesteroneand testosterone to another
(04:14):
extent both have powerful rolesin metabolism.
So, estrogen has a veryimportant role in regulating
insulin sensitivity.
So when your estrogen starts todecline, and this happens
unfortunately to all of us uhthat are born with ovaries, it
makes our insulin lesssensitive.
(04:38):
And therefore, the body becomesmore prone to storing fat,
particularly around the middleof our bodies.
Progesterone has a calming andbalancing effect on the nervous
system.
Estrogen does too, butprogesterone is one of its key
roles, and as it kind of fallsaway, your it impacts our
(05:01):
nervous system.
So our cortisol levels canbecome more dominant, which can
lead to more fat storage aroundthe middle, uh, poor sleep, and
higher blood sugar levelsbecause of the cortisol.
Add in the fact that most womenin their 40s and 50s are
chronically stressed, they'renot sleeping enough, that is a
(05:22):
perfect storm for a metabolicslowdown.
So when women tell me I'm barelyeating anything and I still
can't lose weight, I know rightaway their metabolism has kind
of gone into that famine stage.
And that's what we need to fix.
Because for decades, you knowwhat?
(05:42):
We've been told that weight lossis all about calories in versus
calories out, but your body isnot a calculator, it's a
chemistry lab.
And when you consistently eattoo little, your body can
interpret that as stress andtherefore send your cortisol up.
That interferes with yourglucose metabolism, thyroid
hormones can slow down, and yourmetabolism, your body's engine,
(06:07):
if you like, um, shifts intofuel conservation mode.
So you burn fewer calories atrest, your hunger hormones.
So you have these two hormonesuh called ghrelin and leptin,
and they can get dysregulated,and this can impact your
satiety.
So you may be feeling hungry allof the time, and it doesn't
(06:28):
matter how much you eat, you arenever going to feel full if
those hormones aren't workingproperly.
So that's really important.
And one of the other big thingsis you can lose precious muscle
mass, which further slows yourmetabolism because if you have
good muscle mass, it will burnmore energy at rest.
And the thing is, we're already,as women in our 40s and 50s and
(06:50):
beyond, we're fighting a veryhard battle to maintain the
muscle mass we have, let aloneget more.
So moving the body in ways thatcan prioritize building muscle
mass is a massive uh opportunitythat we have at this time of
life because it's this viciouscycle.
You know, if you restrict yourfood intake, you might lose a
(07:14):
little weight, um, but then yourmetabolism might slow down
accordingly.
And often you'll see that as aplateau.
And then the moment you sort ofstart eating normally again, or
like normally in invertedcommas, you can gain it all
back, often with a bit extra.
And this is called the yo-yoeffect.
There's been quite a lot ofresearch done on this, it is a
real phenomenon.
(07:34):
So if you think it's just youthat you've you know, you've
been um watching what you'reeating, you've lost weight, and
then it's you know, you go backto normal eating, and your body
actually piles on more weightthan you had before.
It's not just you, you're notalone.
This is a phenomenon that we'vebeen aware of since I think it's
post around World War II.
(07:55):
They did a lot of research on uhmen that had been in uh prison
camps, concentration camps,things like that.
So, and they found this yo-yopattern.
And I see this, I talk to womenabout this all of the time that
have had, they've been onvirtually every weight loss
program ever, and um they haveseen this absolute yo-yo effect
(08:21):
where they just lose weight,feel good, then it all falls
apart and they end up beingheavier than when they were
before they started the programthey were doing.
And so there's I see this yo-yowith women, particularly when
there's they've done a very lowcalorie kind of diets, fasting
sometimes depends on the type offasting, or when they've been
(08:43):
really thrashing themselves withcardio, and it's one of the main
reasons that I I you know workwith women on their metabolism
inside the Globe Protocolbecause it's the this is the
key.
We're actually resetting yourmetabolism in this program, and
you you know, one of the thingsis your body needs to feel safe
(09:04):
to burn fat, and because we arewired for survival.
If you're a regular listener,you hear me say that all the
time.
We are wired for survival, andthe body will always conserve
fat tissue if it can, and wehave an unlimited capability to
build fat, there's nothing thatwill switch it off.
So, you know, you need to be uhaware that there are all these
(09:27):
mechanisms in the body thatpotentially can be working
against you if you don't knowhow to use them to your
advantage, which is why it'salways important, I think, to
work with someone who actuallyknows and understands how weight
management happens in the body,and particularly for women in
peri and postmenopause.
(09:48):
So let's talk about, let's shiftgears actually.
Let's talk about what yourmetabolism actually thrives on.
Because yes, you can absolutelyeat more and still lose weight
when you do it strategically.
I have many women that come inand do the glow protocol that
say to me, Oh my gosh, this isso much food.
I mean, conversely, I sometimeshave women go, oh my gosh, this
(10:10):
is this is not as much food asI'm used to eating, but this is
because the portion sizes arecalculated exactly for you.
So for many women that don'tunderstand the right portion
size for themselves, they mayhave been undercooking it, they
may have been overcooking it,then you know, we want to make
sure we get that portion sizeright and that micro balance
right for each individual so wekeep your metabolism running in
(10:34):
the way that it should for youas an individual.
But here are some of the keyelements.
Obviously, there are some keyprinciples that are behind what
I do in this program.
So, one of the main things ishaving enough protein, and this
is a non-negotiable.
Most women over 40 are probablyunder-eating protein, which
(10:55):
means they're losing muscle andslowing their metabolic rate.
And protein's fantastic, itkeeps you full, it supports our
neurotransmitters, so our brainchemicals, helps your body build
lean tissue that burns caloriesaround the clock.
Um, the thing is with protein,there is a lot of emerging
(11:17):
research and there's a lot ofconfusion about what the right
amount of protein is to eat.
Kind of before you hit thatperiod time, generally the
calculation as nutritioniststhat we use is one gram per kilo
of body weight.
Now, the emerging research issaying anywhere between 1.2 to
1.6.
(11:38):
I even read the other day twograms of protein per kilo of
body weight per day.
Now, again, I I think this isgoing to keep changing over the
next few years because we now,and I'm sure you've seen it, the
huge focus that we're seeing inperimenopause and menopause in
the in the lay media at themoment.
(11:59):
I mean, it's it's absolutelyfantastic.
And at the same time, there aremany people who are unqualified
and uneducated about whatthey're saying.
So you just need to be carefulthat you're getting your
information from good sourcesand that there's some research
to back it up.
And I feel like at the moment,from what I'm reading, is that
(12:20):
the research is still emerging.
So we we hear one thing, we go,oh, one point, it's one, oh now
it's 1.2 grams, oh now it's 1.6,and now I'm hearing one, now I'm
hearing two.
So watch this space because itis changing.
And the thing is, it's not kindof good enough to just go, oh,
well, I'll just eat as muchprotein as I can.
(12:40):
And particularly if you havekidney issues, you need to be
very careful with the amount ofprotein that you're eating.
Um, so at the moment, you know,if you're aiming for somewhere
between 1.2 to 1.6 grams ofprotein per kilo of body weight
per day, and this is, you know,this is an average sedentary
person.
If you have different goals,like if you have a goal around
(13:02):
bodybuilding or you know,something specific, that may be
different.
So, as I said, this is notindividual health information by
any stretch.
This is just um generalinformation only, okay?
So you need to talk to your ownpractitioner or um healthcare
(13:23):
professional, whatever, about ifyou're wanting to make changes
along these lines, uh, so thatyou get a good educated advice,
not general advice for you,particularly if you do have a
weight loss goal and it's asignificant weight loss goal.
Um, and that protein ideallywould be spread evenly across
your meals for the day.
(13:44):
Um, yeah, that's probably allI'm gonna say about protein for
now.
Oh, I do I will just say umprotein powders, if you want to
use protein powder to up it up,up it up, what does that mean?
Up your protein um intake.
That look that's fine.
What I would suggest is youreally try and get as pure a
protein powder as you can.
(14:05):
There are a lot of proteinpowders out there that are
pretty ordinary, that are fullof um flavorings and artificial
colours, artificial sweeteners.
Some of them are really bad.
Just go for the most plain,ideally an unflavored protein
powder and add your own flavorin there.
Um, but have a look at thelabel.
(14:27):
Do you recognize all of theingredients?
I would really advise stayingaway from protein powder that
has probiotics in it because weknow that your own microbiome is
the best one for you.
Please don't be addingprobiotics in, you know, if you
have a gut issue, you needspecific probiotics.
(14:48):
Uh, if you have no gut issues orhealth issues, you don't need
probiotics, probably.
So just be mindful of all theingredients you're having if you
are using those sorts of umsupplements, particularly
protein powders.
I review, look, honestly,there's so many different
brands.
I'm reviewing different brandsevery week, and a lot of them
(15:08):
are not great.
And not great.
So just be careful with that.
Um, number two, and I'll justremind you what we're talking
about.
The key elements for um gettingyour metabolism revved up.
So protein is super important,particularly because of the fact
that it it improves your musclemass.
(15:28):
Um, quality carbohydrates,please don't fear carbs.
You know, your thyroid, youradrenal glands need a small,
steady supply of healthy carbs,ones from veggies, from legumes,
from whole grains to keep yourcortisol and your insulin
balanced.
Uh, when women cut carbs toolow, they often experience poor
(15:50):
sleep, anxiety, fatigue, and youknow, it's you just need to have
more carbs.
Um, you know, there's so manywomen that are still not having
bread, for example.
And yes, you want quality, andyou may not wish to have, you
know, bread, huge amounts ofbread three times a day, but we
(16:14):
need carbs, all right?
Don't fear a low carb uhenvironment, but again, quality.
All of this I'm talking aboutinvolves quality, uh, so not
refined carbs, which are thingslike white rice, white pasta,
white flour, white sugar.
Not ideal.
Uh, number three is healthyfats.
(16:34):
Again, a lot of people are stillon the low-fat bandwagon, and I
see this particularly withthings like yogurts, for
example, or other dairyproducts.
You know, you want the full fatproduct.
These help stabilize hunger,improve satiety, improve hormone
(16:55):
balance.
We need fats for our hormones.
So the kind of healthy fats I'mthinking of are avocados, um,
olive oil, extravagant oliveoil, particularly, um, nuts,
seeds, even though they're highin calorie, we know from the
research that people that eatlots of nuts and seeds tend to
have better weight managementthan people who don't.
(17:17):
Uh, also, oily fish, fantasticuh healthy fats.
So just be aware of that, thatthat it's another one of these
myths that that come from thecalorie in, calorie out theory,
uh, that you should have low-fatproducts.
And it's I couldn't, yeah, no, Icouldn't be further from the
truth.
Uh, another thing that you know,when I'm working with women, I
(17:41):
really want to make sure they'regetting their micronutrients.
So micronutrients are thingslike your vitamins, your
minerals, things like magnesium,zinc, selenium, B vitamins,
because these all support energyproduction and thyroid function
and neurotransmitter production.
So if this is really important,again, quality of food matters,
which is why, again, thecalories, I keep coming back to
(18:05):
it.
The calories, um, and I'm seeingthis a lot at the moment with
people um, you know, justfocusing on calories rather than
food quality, is you can reallyget an unbalanced diet if you're
just focusing on calories.
Um, because we all know, and Imean I've done it myself when I
followed um a calorie controldiet.
(18:27):
I did, I think I've spoken aboutthis before.
I used I did it for one week,did a 1200 calorie a day uh
eating at the gym I was at atthe time, and it was awful.
And I would sit there and I'dwork out.
Well, I want to have two glassesof wine tonight, so that's gonna
be 300 calories.
So that's I've got 900 caloriesleft for food.
And sure, we want to have funwith our with our life and our
(18:51):
food, and we don't want to be,you know, pulling all of the fun
foods out, but at the same time,when you're really following
calories like this, it thequality of the food is is a
lower priority than the calorieamount, and that just doesn't
make sense, particularly forwomen going through transition
in peri and post-menopause.
(19:11):
The other thing I think numberfive in terms of um keeping your
metabolism running high isconsistency of meal times.
So if you're skipping meals, ifyou've got erratic eating
patterns, that really canconfuse your metabolism.
Your body loves habit, it lovesrhythm.
(19:32):
And so, ideally, when I'mworking with women, I say three
meals, no snacks.
Trying to have a five to sixhour fasting period between
breakfast and lunch, and lunchand dinner does a number of
things.
It helps to regulate yourinsulin and glucose, and that's
what really turns you into afat-burning machine.
(19:53):
It helps to regulate your energyso you'll feel you won't get
that afternoon slump in theafternoon, and it seems
counterproductive, doesn't it,right?
Like you think if I had snacks,isn't that going to keep my
metabolism running?
But the research tells us thatyou get way better blood glucose
and insulin control when youhave three meals a day, no
snacks, versus multiple smallermeals a day.
(20:15):
And the other benefit you getfrom fasting in this way is your
gut gets a rest.
There's a certain little processthat goes on in your intestines
when you stop eating for about90 minutes.
Once you stop eating for about90 minutes, it will activate
something called the migratingmotor complex or MMC.
(20:35):
And that MMC just helps to kindof think of it as a little
brushing system inside yourintestines and it brushes down
through peristaltic contractionsof your intestines, brushes down
food that might be sittingthere, bacteria, that kind of
thing, so that it keeps your gutwell and healthy.
(20:58):
And it takes around an hour anda half to an hour and a half for
that MMC to complete its cycle.
So that's at least three hoursthat you need to not be eating
in order to activate that.
But ideally for our insulin andglucose control, five to six
hours seems to be the sweetspot.
So they're my five.
I'll just go over it againbecause I've wandered off a
(21:19):
little bit as I do on a tangent.
Our five things that yourmetabolism thrives on are
getting enough protein, havingquality carbohydrates, healthy
fats, micronutrients, makingsure you're getting everything
you need every day, andconsistency of meal timing.
So, how do you actually resetyour metabolism after years of
(21:42):
stress, years of dieting, yearsof hormone chaos?
Let's go step by step.
So, step one, stop undereating.
It is okay to track your mealsfor awareness, but not
restriction.
If you find yourself getting alittle bit obsessive about
tracking, I suggest you take abreak from it.
(22:04):
I have experienced that myselfafter just one week of tracking.
Um, this was a while ago, thisis more than probably 10 years
ago.
Um, I became quite obsessed withtracking and I didn't like it,
and I had to really force myselfto stop.
I am actually tracking at themoment, um, working with my PT,
and I'm I'm really curious to dothat, and it's been really
(22:26):
eye-opening for me to be lookingat uh what I'm eating, what
things I eat a lot of, what Iprobably need to eat more of.
That's been really great.
So if you're tracking your mealsfor awareness, that can be
really positive.
Um but yeah, just be aware ofany mind games that starts
playing on you and just stop it.
(22:47):
Because the thing is, whenyou're tracking, you start to
understand whether or not you'reeating enough to meet your
body's needs.
Um, and often I increase myclients' intake.
And I I do it, I don't ask myclients to track, I prefer they
don't.
I ask I just base it on howthey're feeling, what's their
energy like, what's their stresslike, what's their gut health
(23:10):
doing?
Uh, are they hungry?
That kind of thing will helpguide whether or not a person is
under-eating or not, and thatinvolves also being a little bit
more in tune with your body.
Step two is prioritizing proteinat every meal.
And I, as part of my program,ask all of my clients to have
(23:30):
two bites of protein first, andthis actually helps to keep your
blood sugar stable, tricks yourbody into thinking you're having
a high protein meal, and helpsfuel your metabolism.
So having two bites of proteinfirst, but also prioritizing and
make sure you've got enoughprotein on your plate.
Generally, again, you've got towork out how much you need and
(23:53):
then break that down into meals.
Step three to reset a sluggishmetabolism is strength training.
Cardio has its place,absolutely, but muscle is your
metabolic gold mine.
Lifting weights, even just twoto three times a week, tells
your body to build lean tissueand burn more at rest.
(24:14):
And you gotta lift heavy.
You gotta lift heavy,particularly because we now have
to not just think of our bonemuscle mass, we've got to think
of our bone, sorry, our musclemass, we've got to think of our
bone density, and so liftingheavy puts stress on the bones,
and that helps make them strong.
So, and if again, I wouldstress, please get some advice
(24:37):
around this.
Um, it's very easy to injureyourself if you're not having
good form.
You don't just go into the gymand start lifting heavy, you
need to build up to it, you needto warm up your body properly.
It is well worth having a chatto somebody who's an expert in
this to get the right advice soyou don't hurt yourself, all
right?
(24:58):
Step four to reset a sluggishmetabolism is to manage stress
and sleep.
You cannot out-diet a stressed,sleep-deprived body.
And let's face it, many women inperi and postmenopause are in a
stressed and sleep-developeddeprived body.
Cortisol will always win.
(25:20):
Always prioritize your sleep.
I cannot stress this enough.
Prioritize your sleep andprioritize nervous system
health.
So that's things like deepbreathing, that's things like
spending time in nature, um,maybe something more formal like
(25:40):
meditation or yoga, anythingthat brings you joy will help
with managing stress.
And maybe you need to cut outsome of the stress in your life
if you can.
If there are toxic relationshipsthat are causing you stress, if
there are certain things in theworkplace that are causing you
stress, there's something toreally consider prioritizing
(26:02):
you, learning to say no, so thatyou can uh actually improve your
stress response and your sleep,which will give you massive
long-term health wins.
Step five to reset your sluggishmetabolism is to heal your gut.
A sluggish gut or a fast movinggut, both of these are problems.
(26:26):
If you have chronicconstipation, if you have
regular diarrhea, and I itamazes me how many people have
this, and for them it's normal,and so they don't think that
they need to do anything aboutit.
But particularly if you have asluggish gut, that means
sluggish detox pathways becauseyou know we our waste products
are leaving our body primarilyby the gut.
(26:49):
And if we have a sluggish gut,that means those that pathway is
sluggish, and that can um leadto reabsorption of hormones,
which can then impact yourhormone balance.
It's it's yeah, it's canincrease inflammation and block
fat loss.
And the other way around, if youget you know diarrhea
(27:11):
frequently, then you may not beabsorbing your nutrients very
well, which means it's hard tobuild muscle, it's hard to build
good hormones if how to buildbrain chemicals if you're really
struggling to absorb yournutrients.
So this is all really important,and that's why you know when I'm
working with clients, improvingdigestion and detox is high
(27:35):
priority.
And final one, step six,balancing your hormones.
Because once your metabolismfeels safe and supported, your
hormones are going to begin tocooperate as well.
You'll find your cravingssettle, your energy lifts, fat
loss becomes almost a happy sideeffect of all of this, of
bringing the body back intobalance.
(27:56):
And it's not forced, it's notchallenging and difficult.
So they're the six things toreset a sluggish metabolism.
I'll say them again (28:05):
stop under-eating, prioritize protein
at every meal, strengthtraining, manage stress and
sleep, heal your gut, balanceyour hormones.
So let's have a look at what eatmore, burn more, as I said at
the beginning of the episode.
Let's see what that looks like.
So this does not mean that youstart eating pizza or wine every
(28:27):
night in the name of metabolicfreedom.
Which sounds awesome.
Well, maybe actually not so muchfor me anymore, but for many
people that sounds awesome.
Um, what I'm talking about issmart nourishment.
So here's what that might looklike in a day.
Now, breakfast can be as simpleas full-fat yogurt with fruit.
(28:48):
You know, it can be that simple.
It can be lunch could be, youknow, um, like some salmon with
salad.
Or um, you know, like just youcan literally do meat and three
veg if you want.
Um, you don't have to have fancyfood.
It's in fact, simple is oftenbetter.
(29:10):
Uh, if you do have digestiveissues, cooked food is generally
going to be better than raw,much easier for your body to get
the nutrients out.
But you know, having good,decent portion sizes, um, full
fat, as unprocessed as possible.
So, you know, fruits, veggies,salads, quality proteins,
(29:33):
legumes, whole grains, thingslike that.
Also, plenty of fiber.
Fiber, we know obviously makesyou full, feel fuller, but also
it's great for again gettingthose waste products out of the
body, which is important foryour metabolism.
So, you want plenty of fiber,you want plenty of color,
particularly for thoseantioxidants and balance, as I
(29:54):
mentioned before.
Because when your body realizesthat it's not in a starvation
mode, it It it will be way morelikely to release stored fat.
Way more likely and burningenergy efficiently again.
And actually, you're gonna feelreally good.
You're energized, you'll besleeping well, your mood
stabilizes all because your bodyfinally feels safe and
(30:16):
nourished.
So, you know, if you've beenstuck in that cycle of eating
less, exercising more, gettingnowhere, I want you to take this
episode as your permission slipto nourish your body again.
It's time to eat more, not less,and trust that your metabolism
can bounce back when you give itwhat it needs.
(30:38):
And it's not just about thefood, it's also about managing
your nervous system.
So, you know, if you'rethinking, well, maybe I do need
some more professional help.
If you would like to reach outto me, I'd love to help you and
to do it through the GLOWprotocol.
So it's my signature program.
I run it in a three-month or asix-month block, depending on
(31:00):
your weight loss goal and whatsort of help you feel like you
need.
I've designed it specificallyfor women in peri and
postmenopause who want to loseweight, balance symptoms so that
their um balance hormones sothat their symptoms are under
control, and to just feel likeyourself again.
So if you're not sure where tostart, just book a free
(31:21):
peri-weight loss assessment withme.
I've got the link in the shownotes.
It is uh a no obligation videocall.
I get to know you a little, youget to know me and how I work,
and we'll look at your symptoms,your lifestyle, what might be
holding your metabolism back.
So the link is in the shownotes.
Um yeah, I'd love to speak toyou.
(31:43):
So thank you so much for joiningme today on The Pods.
If this episode resonated withyou, just follow the podcast or
subscribe and share it with afriend who needs to hear that
it's safe to eat again.
Um yeah, it's only kind of thetime of recording, so I think
it's around six weeks orsomething till Christmas.
So there is still time to get inbefore Christmas and get started
(32:06):
and to start feeling reallyawesome for this um holiday
period.
So yeah, um look afteryourselves.
I will be back next Tuesday withanother fresh episode.
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
(32:28):
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
absolutely make my day.
If you found this episoderesonated with you, head over to
my Instagram and DM me at thePerimenopause 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 aging so that
you can be ageless and autumn inyour 40s, 50s, and beyond.
(00:20):
The Ageless and Autumn 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 today's episode of the
Ageless and Awesome Podcast.
(00:41):
I'm Susie Garden, your host, andthis is my first kind of new
episode in a few weeks.
I've just had a few weeks whereI haven't been able to get to
putting out a new app, so I'mreally sorry about that.
I also just want to let you knowfor those that are regular
listeners, you've heard metalking about launching a new
program for skin in peri andpost-menopause, and I'm super
(01:03):
excited to be doing that.
Now I have had to just postponethat to early next year just
because this is a really busytime of year for me.
And I kind of probably got a bitoverexcited and I wasn't really
thinking about the fact thatthis is a really busy time.
Lots of people, as you come outof winter, decide that they want
(01:23):
to, you know, achieve theirgoals for the year, um,
particularly if you've beenhibernating a little bit, not
moving the body, perhapsoverindulging a little bit, and
summer is around the corner.
So, yes, I've been super busywith um peri weight loss
assessment calls and enrollingpeople in my program, the Glow
Protocol.
(01:44):
So I've decided because I wantthe skin program to be, you
know, awesome, I need to put alittle bit more time into it.
So uh keep an eye out for that.
I'm hoping to launch that inFebruary, March next year when
things kind of quiten down alittle bit.
So if you are interested inbooking a peri weight loss
assessment with me, I've justopened up Fridays because I was
(02:06):
running out of appointments.
So um feel free to book on thelink in the show notes.
If you want to know more aboutwhat uh this is all about, then
go to my website,susegarden.com, and go to uh I
think it's work with me and theglow protocol.
And that will give you a littlebit more information.
(02:26):
Okay, so now that I've got thathousekeeping out of the way,
today I wanted to talk about my,you know, this is one of my
absolute favorite things to talkabout and favorite things to
work with women on is weightloss.
So today is essentially eatmore, burn more, how to reset a
sluggish metabolism in peri andpost-menopause.
(02:50):
And, you know, one of thereasons that I love talking
about this is kind of theopposite to what many women are
told when it comes to weightloss.
Many women are told eat less andexercise more and eat more, burn
more is a little bit of adifferent approach.
(03:11):
And many women are surprisedwhen they realize that I'm not
gonna be talking about caloriecounting when you work with me
on weight loss.
So many of you may haveexperienced this.
You know, you've been eatingless, you've been exercising
more, because you know that'sapparently the formula, and
you're still watching the scalescreep up.
So this episode is hopefullygonna change the way you think
(03:32):
about food, about fat loss, andyour hormones and the
relationship that there isbetween these things.
So let's dive in.
So, firstly, let's talk aboutwhy, for many women, our
metabolism slows down inperimenopause.
So, let's talk about what'sactually going on in your body
(03:53):
during this time.
Your metabolism doesn't justrandomly and magically slow down
because you've had a birthday,it slows because of some very
specific hormonal shifts thatchange how your body uses
energy.
Both estrogen and progesteroneand testosterone to another
(04:14):
extent both have powerful rolesin metabolism.
So, estrogen has a veryimportant role in regulating
insulin sensitivity.
So when your estrogen starts todecline, and this happens
unfortunately to all of us uhthat are born with ovaries, it
makes our insulin lesssensitive.
(04:38):
And therefore, the body becomesmore prone to storing fat,
particularly around the middleof our bodies.
Progesterone has a calming andbalancing effect on the nervous
system.
Estrogen does too, butprogesterone is one of its key
roles, and as it kind of fallsaway, your it impacts our
(05:01):
nervous system.
So our cortisol levels canbecome more dominant, which can
lead to more fat storage aroundthe middle, uh, poor sleep, and
higher blood sugar levelsbecause of the cortisol.
Add in the fact that most womenin their 40s and 50s are
chronically stressed, they'renot sleeping enough, that is a
(05:22):
perfect storm for a metabolicslowdown.
So when women tell me I'm barelyeating anything and I still
can't lose weight, I know rightaway their metabolism has kind
of gone into that famine stage.
And that's what we need to fix.
Because for decades, you knowwhat?
(05:42):
We've been told that weight lossis all about calories in versus
calories out, but your body isnot a calculator, it's a
chemistry lab.
And when you consistently eattoo little, your body can
interpret that as stress andtherefore send your cortisol up.
That interferes with yourglucose metabolism, thyroid
hormones can slow down, and yourmetabolism, your body's engine,
(06:07):
if you like, um, shifts intofuel conservation mode.
So you burn fewer calories atrest, your hunger hormones.
So you have these two hormonesuh called ghrelin and leptin,
and they can get dysregulated,and this can impact your
satiety.
So you may be feeling hungry allof the time, and it doesn't
(06:28):
matter how much you eat, you arenever going to feel full if
those hormones aren't workingproperly.
So that's really important.
And one of the other big thingsis you can lose precious muscle
mass, which further slows yourmetabolism because if you have
good muscle mass, it will burnmore energy at rest.
And the thing is, we're already,as women in our 40s and 50s and
(06:50):
beyond, we're fighting a veryhard battle to maintain the
muscle mass we have, let aloneget more.
So moving the body in ways thatcan prioritize building muscle
mass is a massive uh opportunitythat we have at this time of
life because it's this viciouscycle.
You know, if you restrict yourfood intake, you might lose a
(07:14):
little weight, um, but then yourmetabolism might slow down
accordingly.
And often you'll see that as aplateau.
And then the moment you sort ofstart eating normally again, or
like normally in invertedcommas, you can gain it all
back, often with a bit extra.
And this is called the yo-yoeffect.
There's been quite a lot ofresearch done on this, it is a
real phenomenon.
(07:34):
So if you think it's just youthat you've you know, you've
been um watching what you'reeating, you've lost weight, and
then it's you know, you go backto normal eating, and your body
actually piles on more weightthan you had before.
It's not just you, you're notalone.
This is a phenomenon that we'vebeen aware of since I think it's
post around World War II.
(07:55):
They did a lot of research on uhmen that had been in uh prison
camps, concentration camps,things like that.
So, and they found this yo-yopattern.
And I see this, I talk to womenabout this all of the time that
have had, they've been onvirtually every weight loss
program ever, and um they haveseen this absolute yo-yo effect
(08:21):
where they just lose weight,feel good, then it all falls
apart and they end up beingheavier than when they were
before they started the programthey were doing.
And so there's I see this yo-yowith women, particularly when
there's they've done a very lowcalorie kind of diets, fasting
sometimes depends on the type offasting, or when they've been
(08:43):
really thrashing themselves withcardio, and it's one of the main
reasons that I I you know workwith women on their metabolism
inside the Globe Protocolbecause it's the this is the
key.
We're actually resetting yourmetabolism in this program, and
you you know, one of the thingsis your body needs to feel safe
(09:04):
to burn fat, and because we arewired for survival.
If you're a regular listener,you hear me say that all the
time.
We are wired for survival, andthe body will always conserve
fat tissue if it can, and wehave an unlimited capability to
build fat, there's nothing thatwill switch it off.
So, you know, you need to be uhaware that there are all these
(09:27):
mechanisms in the body thatpotentially can be working
against you if you don't knowhow to use them to your
advantage, which is why it'salways important, I think, to
work with someone who actuallyknows and understands how weight
management happens in the body,and particularly for women in
peri and postmenopause.
(09:48):
So let's talk about, let's shiftgears actually.
Let's talk about what yourmetabolism actually thrives on.
Because yes, you can absolutelyeat more and still lose weight
when you do it strategically.
I have many women that come inand do the glow protocol that
say to me, Oh my gosh, this isso much food.
I mean, conversely, I sometimeshave women go, oh my gosh, this
(10:10):
is this is not as much food asI'm used to eating, but this is
because the portion sizes arecalculated exactly for you.
So for many women that don'tunderstand the right portion
size for themselves, they mayhave been undercooking it, they
may have been overcooking it,then you know, we want to make
sure we get that portion sizeright and that micro balance
right for each individual so wekeep your metabolism running in
(10:34):
the way that it should for youas an individual.
But here are some of the keyelements.
Obviously, there are some keyprinciples that are behind what
I do in this program.
So, one of the main things ishaving enough protein, and this
is a non-negotiable.
Most women over 40 are probablyunder-eating protein, which
(10:55):
means they're losing muscle andslowing their metabolic rate.
And protein's fantastic, itkeeps you full, it supports our
neurotransmitters, so our brainchemicals, helps your body build
lean tissue that burns caloriesaround the clock.
Um, the thing is with protein,there is a lot of emerging
(11:17):
research and there's a lot ofconfusion about what the right
amount of protein is to eat.
Kind of before you hit thatperiod time, generally the
calculation as nutritioniststhat we use is one gram per kilo
of body weight.
Now, the emerging research issaying anywhere between 1.2 to
1.6.
(11:38):
I even read the other day twograms of protein per kilo of
body weight per day.
Now, again, I I think this isgoing to keep changing over the
next few years because we now,and I'm sure you've seen it, the
huge focus that we're seeing inperimenopause and menopause in
the in the lay media at themoment.
(11:59):
I mean, it's it's absolutelyfantastic.
And at the same time, there aremany people who are unqualified
and uneducated about whatthey're saying.
So you just need to be carefulthat you're getting your
information from good sourcesand that there's some research
to back it up.
And I feel like at the moment,from what I'm reading, is that
(12:20):
the research is still emerging.
So we we hear one thing, we go,oh, one point, it's one, oh now
it's 1.2 grams, oh now it's 1.6,and now I'm hearing one, now I'm
hearing two.
So watch this space because itis changing.
And the thing is, it's not kindof good enough to just go, oh,
well, I'll just eat as muchprotein as I can.
(12:40):
And particularly if you havekidney issues, you need to be
very careful with the amount ofprotein that you're eating.
Um, so at the moment, you know,if you're aiming for somewhere
between 1.2 to 1.6 grams ofprotein per kilo of body weight
per day, and this is, you know,this is an average sedentary
person.
If you have different goals,like if you have a goal around
(13:02):
bodybuilding or you know,something specific, that may be
different.
So, as I said, this is notindividual health information by
any stretch.
This is just um generalinformation only, okay?
So you need to talk to your ownpractitioner or um healthcare
(13:23):
professional, whatever, about ifyou're wanting to make changes
along these lines, uh, so thatyou get a good educated advice,
not general advice for you,particularly if you do have a
weight loss goal and it's asignificant weight loss goal.
Um, and that protein ideallywould be spread evenly across
your meals for the day.
(13:44):
Um, yeah, that's probably allI'm gonna say about protein for
now.
Oh, I do I will just say umprotein powders, if you want to
use protein powder to up it up,up it up, what does that mean?
Up your protein um intake.
That look that's fine.
What I would suggest is youreally try and get as pure a
protein powder as you can.
(14:05):
There are a lot of proteinpowders out there that are
pretty ordinary, that are fullof um flavorings and artificial
colours, artificial sweeteners.
Some of them are really bad.
Just go for the most plain,ideally an unflavored protein
powder and add your own flavorin there.
Um, but have a look at thelabel.
(14:27):
Do you recognize all of theingredients?
I would really advise stayingaway from protein powder that
has probiotics in it because weknow that your own microbiome is
the best one for you.
Please don't be addingprobiotics in, you know, if you
have a gut issue, you needspecific probiotics.
(14:48):
Uh, if you have no gut issues orhealth issues, you don't need
probiotics, probably.
So just be mindful of all theingredients you're having if you
are using those sorts of umsupplements, particularly
protein powders.
I review, look, honestly,there's so many different
brands.
I'm reviewing different brandsevery week, and a lot of them
(15:08):
are not great.
And not great.
So just be careful with that.
Um, number two, and I'll justremind you what we're talking
about.
The key elements for um gettingyour metabolism revved up.
So protein is super important,particularly because of the fact
that it it improves your musclemass.
(15:28):
Um, quality carbohydrates,please don't fear carbs.
You know, your thyroid, youradrenal glands need a small,
steady supply of healthy carbs,ones from veggies, from legumes,
from whole grains to keep yourcortisol and your insulin
balanced.
Uh, when women cut carbs toolow, they often experience poor
(15:50):
sleep, anxiety, fatigue, and youknow, it's you just need to have
more carbs.
Um, you know, there's so manywomen that are still not having
bread, for example.
And yes, you want quality, andyou may not wish to have, you
know, bread, huge amounts ofbread three times a day, but we
(16:14):
need carbs, all right?
Don't fear a low carb uhenvironment, but again, quality.
All of this I'm talking aboutinvolves quality, uh, so not
refined carbs, which are thingslike white rice, white pasta,
white flour, white sugar.
Not ideal.
Uh, number three is healthyfats.
(16:34):
Again, a lot of people are stillon the low-fat bandwagon, and I
see this particularly withthings like yogurts, for
example, or other dairyproducts.
You know, you want the full fatproduct.
These help stabilize hunger,improve satiety, improve hormone
(16:55):
balance.
We need fats for our hormones.
So the kind of healthy fats I'mthinking of are avocados, um,
olive oil, extravagant oliveoil, particularly, um, nuts,
seeds, even though they're highin calorie, we know from the
research that people that eatlots of nuts and seeds tend to
have better weight managementthan people who don't.
(17:17):
Uh, also, oily fish, fantasticuh healthy fats.
So just be aware of that, thatthat it's another one of these
myths that that come from thecalorie in, calorie out theory,
uh, that you should have low-fatproducts.
And it's I couldn't, yeah, no, Icouldn't be further from the
truth.
Uh, another thing that you know,when I'm working with women, I
(17:41):
really want to make sure they'regetting their micronutrients.
So micronutrients are thingslike your vitamins, your
minerals, things like magnesium,zinc, selenium, B vitamins,
because these all support energyproduction and thyroid function
and neurotransmitter production.
So if this is really important,again, quality of food matters,
which is why, again, thecalories, I keep coming back to
(18:05):
it.
The calories, um, and I'm seeingthis a lot at the moment with
people um, you know, justfocusing on calories rather than
food quality, is you can reallyget an unbalanced diet if you're
just focusing on calories.
Um, because we all know, and Imean I've done it myself when I
followed um a calorie controldiet.
(18:27):
I did, I think I've spoken aboutthis before.
I used I did it for one week,did a 1200 calorie a day uh
eating at the gym I was at atthe time, and it was awful.
And I would sit there and I'dwork out.
Well, I want to have two glassesof wine tonight, so that's gonna
be 300 calories.
So that's I've got 900 caloriesleft for food.
And sure, we want to have funwith our with our life and our
(18:51):
food, and we don't want to be,you know, pulling all of the fun
foods out, but at the same time,when you're really following
calories like this, it thequality of the food is is a
lower priority than the calorieamount, and that just doesn't
make sense, particularly forwomen going through transition
in peri and post-menopause.
(19:11):
The other thing I think numberfive in terms of um keeping your
metabolism running high isconsistency of meal times.
So if you're skipping meals, ifyou've got erratic eating
patterns, that really canconfuse your metabolism.
Your body loves habit, it lovesrhythm.
(19:32):
And so, ideally, when I'mworking with women, I say three
meals, no snacks.
Trying to have a five to sixhour fasting period between
breakfast and lunch, and lunchand dinner does a number of
things.
It helps to regulate yourinsulin and glucose, and that's
what really turns you into afat-burning machine.
(19:53):
It helps to regulate your energyso you'll feel you won't get
that afternoon slump in theafternoon, and it seems
counterproductive, doesn't it,right?
Like you think if I had snacks,isn't that going to keep my
metabolism running?
But the research tells us thatyou get way better blood glucose
and insulin control when youhave three meals a day, no
snacks, versus multiple smallermeals a day.
(20:15):
And the other benefit you getfrom fasting in this way is your
gut gets a rest.
There's a certain little processthat goes on in your intestines
when you stop eating for about90 minutes.
Once you stop eating for about90 minutes, it will activate
something called the migratingmotor complex or MMC.
(20:35):
And that MMC just helps to kindof think of it as a little
brushing system inside yourintestines and it brushes down
through peristaltic contractionsof your intestines, brushes down
food that might be sittingthere, bacteria, that kind of
thing, so that it keeps your gutwell and healthy.
(20:58):
And it takes around an hour anda half to an hour and a half for
that MMC to complete its cycle.
So that's at least three hoursthat you need to not be eating
in order to activate that.
But ideally for our insulin andglucose control, five to six
hours seems to be the sweetspot.
So they're my five.
I'll just go over it againbecause I've wandered off a
(21:19):
little bit as I do on a tangent.
Our five things that yourmetabolism thrives on are
getting enough protein, havingquality carbohydrates, healthy
fats, micronutrients, makingsure you're getting everything
you need every day, andconsistency of meal timing.
So, how do you actually resetyour metabolism after years of
(21:42):
stress, years of dieting, yearsof hormone chaos?
Let's go step by step.
So, step one, stop undereating.
It is okay to track your mealsfor awareness, but not
restriction.
If you find yourself getting alittle bit obsessive about
tracking, I suggest you take abreak from it.
(22:04):
I have experienced that myselfafter just one week of tracking.
Um, this was a while ago, thisis more than probably 10 years
ago.
Um, I became quite obsessed withtracking and I didn't like it,
and I had to really force myselfto stop.
I am actually tracking at themoment, um, working with my PT,
and I'm I'm really curious to dothat, and it's been really
(22:26):
eye-opening for me to be lookingat uh what I'm eating, what
things I eat a lot of, what Iprobably need to eat more of.
That's been really great.
So if you're tracking your mealsfor awareness, that can be
really positive.
Um but yeah, just be aware ofany mind games that starts
playing on you and just stop it.
(22:47):
Because the thing is, whenyou're tracking, you start to
understand whether or not you'reeating enough to meet your
body's needs.
Um, and often I increase myclients' intake.
And I I do it, I don't ask myclients to track, I prefer they
don't.
I ask I just base it on howthey're feeling, what's their
energy like, what's their stresslike, what's their gut health
(23:10):
doing?
Uh, are they hungry?
That kind of thing will helpguide whether or not a person is
under-eating or not, and thatinvolves also being a little bit
more in tune with your body.
Step two is prioritizing proteinat every meal.
And I, as part of my program,ask all of my clients to have
(23:30):
two bites of protein first, andthis actually helps to keep your
blood sugar stable, tricks yourbody into thinking you're having
a high protein meal, and helpsfuel your metabolism.
So having two bites of proteinfirst, but also prioritizing and
make sure you've got enoughprotein on your plate.
Generally, again, you've got towork out how much you need and
(23:53):
then break that down into meals.
Step three to reset a sluggishmetabolism is strength training.
Cardio has its place,absolutely, but muscle is your
metabolic gold mine.
Lifting weights, even just twoto three times a week, tells
your body to build lean tissueand burn more at rest.
(24:14):
And you gotta lift heavy.
You gotta lift heavy,particularly because we now have
to not just think of our bonemuscle mass, we've got to think
of our bone, sorry, our musclemass, we've got to think of our
bone density, and so liftingheavy puts stress on the bones,
and that helps make them strong.
So, and if again, I wouldstress, please get some advice
(24:37):
around this.
Um, it's very easy to injureyourself if you're not having
good form.
You don't just go into the gymand start lifting heavy, you
need to build up to it, you needto warm up your body properly.
It is well worth having a chatto somebody who's an expert in
this to get the right advice soyou don't hurt yourself, all
right?
(24:58):
Step four to reset a sluggishmetabolism is to manage stress
and sleep.
You cannot out-diet a stressed,sleep-deprived body.
And let's face it, many women inperi and postmenopause are in a
stressed and sleep-developeddeprived body.
Cortisol will always win.
(25:20):
Always prioritize your sleep.
I cannot stress this enough.
Prioritize your sleep andprioritize nervous system
health.
So that's things like deepbreathing, that's things like
spending time in nature, um,maybe something more formal like
(25:40):
meditation or yoga, anythingthat brings you joy will help
with managing stress.
And maybe you need to cut outsome of the stress in your life
if you can.
If there are toxic relationshipsthat are causing you stress, if
there are certain things in theworkplace that are causing you
stress, there's something toreally consider prioritizing
(26:02):
you, learning to say no, so thatyou can uh actually improve your
stress response and your sleep,which will give you massive
long-term health wins.
Step five to reset your sluggishmetabolism is to heal your gut.
A sluggish gut or a fast movinggut, both of these are problems.
(26:26):
If you have chronicconstipation, if you have
regular diarrhea, and I itamazes me how many people have
this, and for them it's normal,and so they don't think that
they need to do anything aboutit.
But particularly if you have asluggish gut, that means
sluggish detox pathways becauseyou know we our waste products
are leaving our body primarilyby the gut.
(26:49):
And if we have a sluggish gut,that means those that pathway is
sluggish, and that can um leadto reabsorption of hormones,
which can then impact yourhormone balance.
It's it's yeah, it's canincrease inflammation and block
fat loss.
And the other way around, if youget you know diarrhea
(27:11):
frequently, then you may not beabsorbing your nutrients very
well, which means it's hard tobuild muscle, it's hard to build
good hormones if how to buildbrain chemicals if you're really
struggling to absorb yournutrients.
So this is all really important,and that's why you know when I'm
working with clients, improvingdigestion and detox is high
(27:35):
priority.
And final one, step six,balancing your hormones.
Because once your metabolismfeels safe and supported, your
hormones are going to begin tocooperate as well.
You'll find your cravingssettle, your energy lifts, fat
loss becomes almost a happy sideeffect of all of this, of
bringing the body back intobalance.
(27:56):
And it's not forced, it's notchallenging and difficult.
So they're the six things toreset a sluggish metabolism.
I'll say them again (28:05):
stop under-eating, prioritize protein
at every meal, strengthtraining, manage stress and
sleep, heal your gut, balanceyour hormones.
So let's have a look at what eatmore, burn more, as I said at
the beginning of the episode.
Let's see what that looks like.
So this does not mean that youstart eating pizza or wine every
(28:27):
night in the name of metabolicfreedom.
Which sounds awesome.
Well, maybe actually not so muchfor me anymore, but for many
people that sounds awesome.
Um, what I'm talking about issmart nourishment.
So here's what that might looklike in a day.
Now, breakfast can be as simpleas full-fat yogurt with fruit.
(28:48):
You know, it can be that simple.
It can be lunch could be, youknow, um, like some salmon with
salad.
Or um, you know, like just youcan literally do meat and three
veg if you want.
Um, you don't have to have fancyfood.
It's in fact, simple is oftenbetter.
(29:10):
Uh, if you do have digestiveissues, cooked food is generally
going to be better than raw,much easier for your body to get
the nutrients out.
But you know, having good,decent portion sizes, um, full
fat, as unprocessed as possible.
So, you know, fruits, veggies,salads, quality proteins,
(29:33):
legumes, whole grains, thingslike that.
Also, plenty of fiber.
Fiber, we know obviously makesyou full, feel fuller, but also
it's great for again gettingthose waste products out of the
body, which is important foryour metabolism.
So, you want plenty of fiber,you want plenty of color,
particularly for thoseantioxidants and balance, as I
(29:54):
mentioned before.
Because when your body realizesthat it's not in a starvation
mode, it It it will be way morelikely to release stored fat.
Way more likely and burningenergy efficiently again.
And actually, you're gonna feelreally good.
You're energized, you'll besleeping well, your mood
stabilizes all because your bodyfinally feels safe and
(30:16):
nourished.
So, you know, if you've beenstuck in that cycle of eating
less, exercising more, gettingnowhere, I want you to take this
episode as your permission slipto nourish your body again.
It's time to eat more, not less,and trust that your metabolism
can bounce back when you give itwhat it needs.
(30:38):
And it's not just about thefood, it's also about managing
your nervous system.
So, you know, if you'rethinking, well, maybe I do need
some more professional help.
If you would like to reach outto me, I'd love to help you and
to do it through the GLOWprotocol.
So it's my signature program.
I run it in a three-month or asix-month block, depending on
(31:00):
your weight loss goal and whatsort of help you feel like you
need.
I've designed it specificallyfor women in peri and
postmenopause who want to loseweight, balance symptoms so that
their um balance hormones sothat their symptoms are under
control, and to just feel likeyourself again.
So if you're not sure where tostart, just book a free
(31:21):
peri-weight loss assessment withme.
I've got the link in the shownotes.
It is uh a no obligation videocall.
I get to know you a little, youget to know me and how I work,
and we'll look at your symptoms,your lifestyle, what might be
holding your metabolism back.
So the link is in the shownotes.
Um yeah, I'd love to speak toyou.
(31:43):
So thank you so much for joiningme today on The Pods.
If this episode resonated withyou, just follow the podcast or
subscribe and share it with afriend who needs to hear that
it's safe to eat again.
Um yeah, it's only kind of thetime of recording, so I think
it's around six weeks orsomething till Christmas.
So there is still time to get inbefore Christmas and get started
(32:06):
and to start feeling reallyawesome for this um holiday
period.
So yeah, um look afteryourselves.
I will be back next Tuesday withanother fresh episode.
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
(32:28):
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
absolutely make my day.
If you found this episoderesonated with you, head over to
my Instagram and DM me at thePerimenopause Park.
I would love to connect withyou.
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