Lose Weight, Restore Energy and Start Your Path to a Younger You!

How many of you have learned that in order to lose weight you must limit your calories? Have you also been told to eat less fat and more carbohydrates? Has it worked for you? The only time that this type of diet worked for me was during my 20's and 30's when it didn't matter what I ate, or so I thought!
If you haven't found out already, it's not the amount of calories that are important to keeping a healthy weight it's the type and proportions of foods that you ingest day in and day out. This is actually good news my friends, because you don't have to starve yourself. That's right, you can eat all day long and lose the pounds that have been hanging on to you for dear life.
The number one key to losing weight is to feed the body every two to three hours with a small meal consisting of protein, fat and complex carbohydrates, no processed carbs please. This will help to balance blood sugar and hormone levels, help reduce adrenal fatigue, increase energy, prevent ups and downs in energy and mood, and promote weight loss.
The second key to losing weight is to feed your body with healthy, organic proteins, fats and carbohydrates to be sure that you are not ingesting toxins such as; hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and more. A Lower Carb Mediterranean Diet will give you the nutrients you need to attain optimal health and the balance you need to reach your optimal weight.
Rules to live by:
Do not eat carbs alone and especially do not eat a carbohydrate based breakfast.
Avoid stimulants including; coffee, tea, sugar, fruit juices and alcohol.
No processed foods.
Eat real, whole, fresh food.
Avoid trans-fats and rancid fats (all hydrogenated oils) such as margarine, vegetable shortening, and almost all commercially prepared packaged foods.
Eat more vegetables than fruits.
Salt your foods liberally with sea salt (low salt diets contribute to adrenal fatigue).
Drink plenty of water (filtered or spring water).
Eat foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids such as fatty cold-water (not farm raised) fish, such as salmon, trout, herring and mackerel. Limit tuna as they absorb high amounts of mercury.
Eat walnuts, flaxseeds and green leafy vegetables.
Use monounsaturated oils, especially cold pressed extra virgin olive oil as your primary oil/fat source.
No canola oil as it is highly refined.
Avoid oils that are high in Omega 6 fatty acids including; corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean, and cottonseed oils.
Eat 7 or more vegetables and fruits per day (fresh or frozen).
Make complex carbs (breads, pasta, and grains) your smallest food group.
Eat natural and preferably organic sources of good protein.
Let's not forget to EXERCISE.
If this seems overwhelming to you, start small, change one or two things each month and develop healthier habits one step at a time, but do start. It's your life, live it to the fullest.
Dr. Brenda Sahlin invites you to visit her website at http://www.managingmenopausenaturally.com/ and pick up your free eBook of '9 Secrets to Feeling Energized and Staying Young' for more tips to living a healthy and full life.

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Hormonal Weight Gain - 5 Keys To Controlling Hormones and Weight Gain

Ladies, did you know that hormonal weight gain often ranging somewhere from 10 to 15 pounds on average is a very common side effect and symptom of menopause?
No doubt those women who have already begun to experience the beginning or early stages of menopause will agree with the reality of this slow shift in body weight as they watch (often in horror and frustration) their waistlines slowly thicken and increase in circumference without what seems any probable cause!
In fact both past and recent research studies that were carried out on the changes in the endocrine system and women's hormones during peri-menopause and menopause; in particular hormonal weight gain, estimates that at least 80% or more women will inevitably gain some excess poundage throughout their menopause years regardless of whether they change their calorie intake or not.
Does this sound familiar to you in any way? Have you found yourself confused and frustrated with watching your waist circumference slowly increase in spite of not making any changes to your daily diet plan?
Just to be clear, this isn't a sudden change that just happens overnight, but rather a slow, progressive change in the distribution of your body weight and where body fat tends to plant itself.
Unfortunately, it seems that the stomach, the hips and the waistline tend to be the most favoured areas for extra body fat to be stored for most women, much to our dismay.
Calories taken in are not the culprits here either, so reducing your calorie intake has little effect in maintaining your hourglass figure of yesterday.
In fact, fad diets that endorse a near starvation calorie intake of less than 1,200 calories daily can actually exacerbate the problem and be dangerous to your health!
Rather, hormonal weight gain is a direct cause and the thickening effect that follows as a result of fluctuations and shifts in a woman's hormone levels - in essence, your hormones are to blame for that excess belly fat.
There's no question that hormones and weight gain are very intricately linked and there are actually four key hormones at play here, each having its own unique role in how and where your body stores body fat.
Diet and exercise are the first two main factors that can influence the state of your hormones.
Stress, sleep and nutritional supplementation are three important factors too and also play an important role in influencing the state of your hormones and maintaining a healthy body weight as well.
Knowing what NOT to do can be helpful too.
For example, cutting back or avoiding excessive caffeine, alcohol and other stimulants is also important.
The good news for women is that many of these factors can be manipulated and changed in order to help you achieve optimal hormonal balance and avoid hormonal weight gain.
To learn more about your hormones and weight gain and how you can best put these 5 key factors into practice visit http://www.belly-fat-blues.com/

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How to Lose Weight During Menopause: Steps on the Best Ways to Do It

You probably have never wondered how to lose weight during menopause. Maybe because you have never thought about how difficult it becomes for women to lose weight at this stage in their lives. This is normally a natural stage in a woman and it comes with many changes for them. They may be physical and biological as well as social.
One of the major changes is the hormonal imbalances that result in a weight gain. The social life also changes and this woman may not be able to carefully watch her diet due to changes in social life and this too results in a weight gain.
Whenever you find yourself in such a situation, the issue of how to lose weight comes up. The health of this woman becomes more important so in essence, she is not looking for a diet pill or surgery, but instead out to look for the healthiest way to lose weight.
Why is it difficult?
During this period, the hormonal changes bring along some sort of sensitivity to diets. Your body is more in need of some nutrients than it did before, so weight loss menopause only becomes more difficult. The loss of important nutrients such as calcium also leads to some weight gain.
First step: Moderate things
The major problem that a woman in her menopause may encounter is resistance to changes. At this period, completely changing your diet may not be the solution and you may find that it will only make it worse. So as a remedy, try to moderate things. Do not introduce everything instantly but rather give the body some time to register the changes.
For instance, if you deny yourself all your favorite meal because they are unhealthy, it is more likely that you will fail in weight loss. But always remember that you must strive to achieve the healthiest feeding habits you can.
Second step: Exercise
Most women in their menopause find exercise quite impossible. But weight loss is to be made possible, you must try and exercise. Try sticking to simple and less intensive exercise such as jogging and walking at least everyday. Remember you must want to maintain a very healthy lifestyle and such can not be achieved devoid of exercise.
However, be careful as your body is quite fragile at this age and you would not want to engage in exercise that will hurt you in the name of weight loss.
Step three: Everything natural
During menopause, you will find that your body is quite sensitive and to avoid evoking negative reactions, keep everything natural. Try natural herbal tea and other foods and you will find that the body responds positively. This will not only help you in losing weight but will also boost your health which could be quite frail at such a time.
So you now know that how to lose weight during menopause should not be such a hard thing, just understand your body ad feed it with what it needs. Remember staying fit at this time is also essential.
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Losing Menopause Weight, Is That What You Had in Mind?

Let's face it, when it comes to addressing our menopause weight gain, we mentally have to "go there" and be committed. The mental game is so important, it may be the one thing that will determine whether we will succeed, or fail, in our menopause weight loss.
Putting ourselves into the right state of mind may be the key to our success. For me, this was the missing ingredient that turned my thought process around, and to then achieve success, in my menopause weight loss. With out this puzzle piece, I was self sabotaging my efforts. If I could not believe I was worthy, as well as capable of being healthy, I wasn't.
Our minds, with a "can do" attitude, makes a huge impact on our health and vitality. If we are not ready to lose weight, and we doubt we can, we won't! Being prepared and being mentally ready to achieve our health and fitness goals will keep us focused during the challenges we will come across.
Think about it, how we handle and perceive fat loss bumps in the road as well as weight plateaus, will determine our success moving forward. If our mind is not ready for the challenge of addressing our menopause fat loss, our body will not be ready.
We all get excited about wanting to losing weight, and we may think its just our body, moving, burning calories and loosing pounds. So, what happens, a lot of the time, when things get tough, and we bail on our program? If we can first prepare mentally for our menopause fat loss goals, then we can survive those road blocks, because our mind will be ready to deal with them. Remember, this journey is both mental and physical.
I must have been a really slow learner, because it took me almost 3 years of working out and working on my diet before "I got it." Without that final, most important piece, the mental mindset, I was floundering and self sabotaging, like crazy.
I thought some tips to help you to "mentally go there", might be helpful. Plus, I don't want you to have to take years to figure this out. Like I said, I was a slow learner:
1. See yourself everyday at that goal weight, that goal size in clothes, that body. When you see it in your mind, and believe it, do a happy dance, knowing, really knowing, it will happen.
2. Trust yourself!! Seriously, you can and will do this, and do it well. You are in control of you. Believe in, and trust yourself.
3. Start with a clean mental slate, everyday. Too many people focus on the past. That's not you is it? Make mental decisions for today, and for the future. Do not look back. Do not beat yourself up for looking back. Let it go, and move forward.
4. Have no fear. Wow, this is a hard one. But being afraid will only bog down your progress. Why, because your mental state will be a mess. Deep breath here, another one, now, put yourself out there!
5. Be kinder to you. Yes, you, be nice to you. Really. Give yourself a break.
6. Don't get fenced in. Not by your family, not by society, not by your "not ready to make that mental change yet", friends. If they don't want to go there, remember... you do.
7. Some with the toughest battles we face in our lives are with ourselves.
We have pain and suffering from failed diets of the past. We beat ourselves up for looking at what we have done to ourselves, our body.
We hate the way our jaw, our knees, our arms look. We are relentless critics of ourselves. This has to stop right now. No one is this hard, or this cruel,about the way other people look. So stop looking at yourself like that, now.
8. Don't listen to the voices of others who proclaim they know what is best for us. This includes me, or answers from anywhere and anyone else. Listen to yourself, know yourself. The answers are from within.
9. Know your triggers. Face those times of the day that when you are the weakest. Mine was 4:00pm. I had to sign up for an exercise dance class at that time, so I wouldn't undo all the work I had done that whole day. Your time might be 9:00pm ice cream, or grazing out of the fridge. Maybe it's 2:00pm at the vending machine. Note these times and deal with them head on.
10. Recognize your sabotages. These are negative things you feel: boredom, unrealistic expectations, and feelings of deprivations. You may be telling yourself you don't deserve it? This is important, yes you do deserve it. You deserve to be the best you can be. Really.
Remember to trust your vision, trust yourself.
"What You Can Conceive and Believe, Is What You Will Achieve." - Earl Nightingale
Co-Author of Menopause Master Plan
Corby Campbell Shields
http://www.menopausemasterplan.com/

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Premenopause and Menopause Weight Gain - What Is Important to Know

When women go through premenopause and menopause, they usually start putting extra weight particularly around their abdomen. This is mainly due to hormonal changes. In this article, I will review the causes of premenopause and menopause weight gain and what can be done about it.The relationship between menopause and weight gain has to do with the link between insulin, metabolism and fat. Most women follow a low- fat high carbohydrate diet with lots of highly processed foods such white bread, rice and pasta. In the long run, this diet can bring about a condition called insulin resistance. When you are insulin resistant, the body turns everything you eat into fat.
The answer then is to adopt the right diet. It doesn't mean that you should avoid all carbohydrates. You just have to stay away from the highly processed ones and load your diet with whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats. It's also very important to include good fats such as the ones full with Omega 3 fatty acid. Omega 3 rich foods are found in olive oil and fish such as salmon, tuna and herrings. Good fats are generally not solid at room temperature. So now you know why margarine is not a good fat.
Good fats are important for 2 reasons:
1) they help in the production of your hormones and
2) they help the body not turn everything you eat into extra fat.
As we get older, it becomes important to detoxify the body on a regular basis. Our environment and foods are filled with toxins and additives that accumulate in the body. The accumulation of toxins can be a cause of hormonal imbalance also.
The second link between menopause and weight gain is stress. Stress hormone like cortisone is known to block weight loss. If you don't have the right diet on top of it, you create more hormonal imbalance in your body. That's why you not only have the weight gain but also the other menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats. Stress worsens all the symptoms. That's why you should do everything possible to avoid stress. There are many tools for de-stressing from aromatherapy to relaxing mind music.
Although menopause weight gain seems to be a natural consequence of this passage of life, the truth is that it doesn't have to be so. With the right diet and attention to manage and control stress, you can minimize the hormonal imbalance that usually comes with perimenopause and menopause.
To learn more and find help to fight the symptoms of premenopause and menopause such as weight gain and stress, download a free e-book at Help with Menopause.

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Your Menopause and Weight Gain

Sad, but so true, one of the #1 most common symptoms of menopause is weight gain, as well as a change in the overall shape of your body.About 90% of pre menopausal and menopausal women gain weight, an average of 10-15 pounds.
Women who have an early menopause or surgical menopause (due to cancer treatments or hysterectomies) may experience more rapid and extreme weight gain. Lovely!
Here's the kicker, when it comes to menopause and weight gain - you may be eating and exercising exactly the same way you always were, but you still can't seem to maintain your previous weight. You continue to gain, and it seems to be landing right around your middle?
As you enter the early stages of pre menopause, maintaining weight becomes more and more difficult, and losing weight becomes almost impossible. This is because of a fluctuation in your hormones.
Your hormones have direct impact on your appetite, your metabolism and fat storage. This is why it is so difficult to control your weight gain during menopause, no matter what you do. Fluctuating Estrogen, Progesterone, and Androgen will fight you all the way.
Estrogen:
This is the female sex hormone that is responsible for causing monthly ovulation. During female menopause, your estrogen levels decline rapidly, and your body will stop ovulation. Estrogen also seems to play a big role in the weight gain. As your ovaries produce less estrogen, your body works harder to convert calories into fat; the fat is used to increase those depleting estrogen levels. Unfortunately for you, fat cells don't burn calories the way muscle cells do, which causes you to pack on unwanted pounds.
Progesterone:
As we enter menopause, progesterone levels will also decrease. Like estrogen, lover levels of this hormone can be responsible for weight gain, or at the least, the appearance of it. Water retention and menopause often go hand in hand, since water weight and bloating are due to the decreasing progesterone levels. Your clothes will probably feel tighter and you may - ok, you will - feel heavier.
Androgen:
This hormone is responsible for sending your new pounds directly to your middle section (oh, joy!). In fact, menopause and weight gain is often known as the "middle age spread" because of the rapid growth of the mid section. Often, one of the first signs of menopause is an increase of androgen in your body, which causes you to gain weight around your abdomen instead of around your hips and hind end.
Drops in the hormone testosterone, insulin resistance and stress are all big contributors to your weight gain during menopause as well. Constant inactivity and thyroid disorders also come into play.
The bottom line is that our hormonal imbalances can decrease lean muscle mass, thus, fewer calories will be burned. The cells need less energy and thus store more fats, which will then accumulate in and on the body. You, as a smart, unique, put-together woman, have many ways to address this change, as well as your menopause and weight gain.
Corby Campbell Shields
Co-Author Menopause Master Plan
http://menopausemasterplan.com/

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