Hormones play a large part of fat loss and I'm not just talking about estrogen, progesterone, testosterone or DHEA. I'm talking about all your hormones, but especially insulin, cortisol, thyroid, and estrogen. Those four hormones are really mack daddy hormones that contribute to weight loss. 

The great thing about the Trim Healthy Mama plan is that everything that it stands for and all of the concepts the plan is based on help us with regulating blood sugar. There are some things though that need to change in our 40-plus season. These are the steps that we focus on in the Feminine Freedom path. Making these changes takes time and you might be frustrated with where you are right now. But if you can apply these principles, and you're consistent, then you can start shrinking fat cells, and you can see results. So I just want you to put on your patience. 

The Trim Healthy Mama plan is our foundation, staying on plan is key but we tweak it for our older season. I'm going to share...

Mark 5:34 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace, and be healed from your affliction.”

Daughter.

Jesus calls her Daughter.

What an intimate name. In that one word, he conveys fatherly warmth, love, compassion, and protection. This is an amazing moment where desperate faith stretches out to touch a holy God. In this Daughter’s desperation, she seeks him out.

She follows him. She had only heard about him. But she must know that He alone is the source of healing and hope. Why else would she have dared approach him? Yet she “came up behind him”, not to his face.

Have you ever felt your faith desperate yet strained at the same time?

Maybe you feel unworthy. Maybe you've only heard about the goodness of God but have yet to experience it for yourself and so you are uncertain, scared to even dare to trust. But you look at your affliction and know that only by His hand will you find restoration and peace. And so, you come up to him with all the boldness you...

What if you could love your menopausal body no matter what?

What if you knew that the symptoms you experience are just part of the menopause transition and they are taking you to a better place?

You do not have to be a victim to hormonal changes and crazy symptoms. You can have relief through this transition and support your body well while you manage your hormones. 

Symptoms during menopause like joint pain, aches, hot flashes and trouble sleeping are usually temporary. But the better you treat yourself, the better you are going to feel.

When you were younger you could push self-care to the bottom of your priority list. That is no longer the case! Punishment & deprivation are out. Neglect of your needs and desires has had its day. This season is a time for you to love on your body.

Choose to make peace with your body during menopause. Understand that your body is changing and needs support and care not anger and frustration. Treat your body with the care it dese...

I remember feeling anything but sane around the age of 40 when I suddenly started to gain belly fat.

What made it worse was even though I was faithfully eating on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, I was also experiencing:

>> Low-level anxiety 

>> Lack of motivation

>> Low libido (no libido)

And having sleepless nights AGAIN- after all those sleepless nights with 9 babies. 

My cycle was regular but my moods were unpredictable.

Brain fog set in as did some depression.

So, I went to my Gynecologist with my complaints and she gave me two options: the pill or an antidepressant.

And then she said this could last up to 10 years!! 

What!?! 

I wasn’t willing to try either of these.

There had to be a better way.

I started researching and ended up joining a life coaching school that was teaching people how to “get control of their life and start creating the results they wanted”.

I learned how to renew and manage my mind (it was SO negative) and that was a pivotal ...

Low self-esteem can cause negative self-talk. This can further lower your self-esteem causing a vicious cycle where you continually feel bad about yourself. The good news is that you can change the way you talk to and about yourself. When you conquer negative self-talk, your self-esteem will improve. You’ll gain more self-confidence and you’ll feel more optimistic about your life in general. 

If you’re ready to break the cycle of negativity, you need to understand these essential truths. 

Actions follow thoughts, so your thoughts are important. 

Your actions always begin with your thoughts. If you think that you’re destined to be overweight, then it doesn’t matter how many diet books you buy or how many nutritionists you talk to, you’re still going to be overweight. You’ll stay overweight because you haven’t changed your mindset. 

If you want to change your life, you have to change your thoughts first. Instead of thinking that you’re destined to be overweight, flip the script....

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As you age, you start to lose bone and muscle mass. But, there is 1 nutrient that is key to helping you retain muscle mass and bone density. 

Protein.

Every day you are faced with food choices. Some of those foods help your body and others simply don’t.

If you are in the throes of perimenopause or menopause, even in post menopause one of the best ways you can support your body is to pay attention to what is at the end of your fork. 

Your hormonal symptoms like inability to sleep, hot flashes, low-level anxiety, and stomach bloating are directly related to the foods you choose to eat. It is time to put on your big-girl panties and declare that your health will take priority over your desires and urges and choose foods to heal & support your body.

Start by reducing the worst food choices...

Let’s talk about SIT training. 

Have you heard of this?

No, it’s not sitting in a chair.

SIT is Sprint Interval Training.

The studies about SIT say that it is very important for women in perimenopause & menopause to perform.

Why do you need to include Sprint Interval Training?

 #1 - It turns up your body’s ability to burn fat

#2 - Helps with insulin sensitivity and Insulin resistance

#3 - Gets you using more oxygen, burning more calories and burning more fat

The key to SIT is the high-intensity SHORT interval plus recovery.

Your sprint could be on a bike, on a treadmill, in the water, or up a hill. You sprint really hard, get breathless for 8-30 seconds, and then recover for as long as you need to.

A big benefit of SIT will be the improvement of your body composition. It increases lean muscle mass and reduces fat mass in a relatively short period of time. 

SIT helps burn belly fat and stops your body from storing fat. SIT training strengthens & increase...

Thankfulness.

Colossians 3:15- “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.”

Is your heart thankful?

What does it take to orient my heart toward thankfulness?

Have you ever thought about that? If by nature I am corrupt and selfish, how do I turn that around? I know there are times I have wondered about this. Especially when I have failed miserably. 

The opposite of thankfulness is selfishness.

I hate to admit it, but I can offer many examples of my selfish heart. When something doesn’t go my way and I pout. Or when someone cuts me off in traffic and I grumble. And definitely, after I have an impatient outburst towards my family. Ugh! Those are the worst! It’s when the “Me, Me, ME!” monster rears its ugly head and destroys relationships. And later in the quiet moments, I wonder, how can I become less self-centered? 

The problem is a lack of humility.

If my desire is to be grateful, but I’m doin...

A word from Coach Leslie:

 “He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.”  Proverbs 11:27 

Have you ever noticed that you find what you’re looking for? Maybe not every item you misplace, but you do find the thing that your heart looks for. This is true in many areas of life. God used this concept in my life to curb my habit of complaining. Here's what happened…

Just as I was processing this concept my family and I went on our first family vacation. At this time, we just had two babies (who are now 20 and 17!). We knew it wouldn’t be a “vacation” for my husband and me, per se because after all, our boys were little and still required all the care and energy given at home, now we were just taking it all to another location. Yet, we were hopeful that it would still be a nice getaway to do something different with our young boys.

The plan was to stay with my husband’s grandparents for a few days in south Alabama within 30 min. of the beach. They ha...

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Progesterone naturally begins to decline around age 30, and by age 50 has decreased significantly. According to the late Dr. John Lee (leading progesterone specialist), estrogen levels drop only 40-60% at menopause, just enough for the monthly cycles to stop. Sadly, progesterone levels may drop to near zero in some women causing hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and other troubling symptoms. Stress, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and xenoestrogens all accelerate the progesterone decline. During perimenopause and menopause, the sharp decline of progesterone can lead to estrogen dominance – despite lower estrogen levels.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF PROGESTERONE

• Enhances thyroid hormones
• Good for your bones
• Good for your heart
• Helps weight loss
• Keeps estrogen in check
• May offer protection against some cancers
• Prevents hot flashes and night sweats
• Prevents some headach...