Damn my menopausal hormones!

You may have been here... You did a new diet or healthy eating regime, put loads of effort into it but when you jumped on the scales at the end, it only showed you'd lost a pound or two. I bet you thought, 'What was the point?" and then you feel totally deflated and go and eat something stodgy or sugary. I had a small bout of this at the start of last week. The previous week was our 777 Challenge, our non faddy, real food, get healthy quick plan. We had quite a big uptake after the break with everyone looking to shed their extra Christmas pounds, myself included. Now I've done these weeks before and I typically lose 3-5lbs in the 7 days, fairly easily. (Yes I can eat a little too much of the wrong stuff too and lose my way now and then. I'm still human!) But...this time, when I jumped onto the scales I'd only lost about 2lbs! A huge wave of disappointment came over me even though I know that the number is only a reflection of my body weight against gravity. I know that scales don't tell you all the positive changes that happen internally when you eat real food.  I know that scales don't tell you that your energy levels improve.  I know that scales don't tell you how much better your skin looks. I KNOW! But I still felt really down and disappointed. Why hadn't I been as successful this time? I then thought about each element of the week in turn... Food  I'd stuck to 3 meals a day of real and fresh food and not had any wobbles - but with a sore throat I'd had turned to throat sweets which contained sugar Exercise  I'd completed about 85% of the workouts and been walking Water  I'd only reached about two thirds of my water target - key for flushing out stored water and toxins from fat cells Sleep  I had been in bed by 10.30pm on 6 of the 7 nights, but several of the nights had very poor quality sleep due to barking foxes and an unwell dog. This would have really hindered my results.   But then I realised, I now have an additional hindrance, my changed hormones! I'm now 44 and I have been going through an early menopause. My hormones and mindset have been knocked a little sideways in the last few years. Sleep is key to help hormones re balance, plus give us the repair and regeneration we need. Physical repair generally takes place between 10pm and 2am, and psychological repair for the mind takes place between 2am and 6am. Not getting to bed early enough and not getting enough good sleep regularly enough affects this and our ability to lose weight. So, with all the changes my body has been going through, I now won't find it quite so easy to shed extra pounds, in fact, my body will be trying hard to prevent it happening! Why? Well, in the menopause our ovaries stop producing estrogen. We have estrogen in our fat cells but not as much, so our bodies become very reluctant to give them up, hence making it harder to lose weight. Other hormones like cortisol and adreneline are also much higher (and part of the cause of hot flushes). These stress hormones also hinder weight loss, which is why we need to find time to slow down and relax each week. Now I don't have all the answers yet (I am looking into doing a course all about it so I can help myself then help others), but here are my top tips for now if you are going through a similar experience. Don't do just a little bit of healthy eating, drinking water or exercise, give it your all in order to get better results.   Don't jump straight onto the HRT band wagon. There are no one size fits all drugs and not everyone needs them in the same quantities. Our bodies were designed to cope with all hormonal processes for life, including menopause. Most menopausal symptoms can be managed through diet and exercise alone. Look into alternative and natural supplements first. I've just started taking soy isoflavones supplements (good brands are Solgar and Higher Nature). Other supplements to consider are evening primrose and magnesium citrate (or any ending in 'ate')   Most importantly accept yourself as you are NOW and accept that change WILL happen. And never give up trying. For more information on peri and menopause, two 'guru's' to check out are Dr Christiane Northrup and Dr Sara Gottfried. Re-balance your hormones, re-balance your health... If you would like a hand re-balancing your hormones starting with nutrition and lifestyle, our Project Recharge has just kicked off and will be going on until 19th April. It will have 4 phases, and you can join at any time. Phase 1 = Reboot: reset your body Phase 2 = Plug in: boost your energy and motivation Phase 3 = Turn it up: ramp up your metabolism Phase 4 = Retain: maintain your momentum If you would like more information, or to come and try our training sessions and all we have to offer by coming to a taster week, then please reply to this email.

Emma 'never giving up' Boffo emma@emmabfitness.com 07956 315851 Join our new Facebook group for tips on getting healthy, being happy and getting yourself looking hot!