Music provided by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ 

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If there's one thing I get asked about by women in the midlife season, it's "How do I get rid of belly fat?" 

I had the same question just a few years ago, and getting the answer was challenging. But thanks to the Trim Healthy eating plan, we have a shortcut to increase belly fat loss without deprivation and dieting.

Today on the podcast, I'll show you a few fundamental changes to make to your meal plan in menopause so you can reduce belly fat and feel better. It's like Trim Healthy Mama 2.0. The same basic principles of protein-centered meals but with a strong focus on your E (energizing) meals over your S (satisfying) meals. Because of declining hormones over 50 and sometimes younger, you need to fuel differently. You need fuel to turn on fat-burning, and as your hormones change, your fueling needs to change too. You can lose the extra belly fat, but you'll need to understand the hormones...

Music provided by: https://www.purple-planet.com/ 

I was sick and I didn’t even know it.

I was a mess. My hormones are out of whack, my energy levels were at an all-time low, and my mindset was toxic. I couldn’t get enough sleep. Day in and day out, I would think about how miserable I was. This, combined with the loss of a close friend and two of my teens struggling with other issues, led to a lot of stress. I was also going through perimenopause, which caused many hormonal imbalances in my body.

I tried to fix myself. I’d exercise, but if I overdid it, it would mess with my adrenals. I tried the Whole Raw diet, but that wrecked my gut. It got to the point where I finally threw in the towel and visited my Gynecologist. She gave me two options:

Either go on the pill, or start taking antidepressants.

I left the building furious and in tears. I couldn’t do that. This led me to a time of heavy study and discussion about hormones, food, and...

Why is it so hard to be consistent?

Starting is easy. 

Starting is exciting and new and fresh and so full of hope and possibility.

But doing what it takes to reach the end. Now that can be a real slog.

Starting your Trim Healthy journey is fun! There are so many good recipes to try and new things to learn. 

But then, to see success, you have to keep at these changes until they are a habit. Part of your lifestyle. 

So, I want to share with you what my most successful clients have in common and how they have overcome pitfalls and have learned to be successful on their Trim Healthy journey. 

1. They made a quality commitment to adopt the plan as a lifestyle. Not a perfect commitment, but an “I am in” day in and day out because they were done with dieting. Done with the mental drama. And they also had people in mind that they wanted to show up healthy for. 

2. They had to redefine what...

What’s for dinner?

When should I exercise?

How many E meals have I had today?

When am I going to walk?

What should I eat for a snack?

Is this enough protein?

What Trim Healthy fuel should I eat next?

Can you feel your increased heart-rate? Or the sweat beading along your hairline? Maybe you’ve found a nice quiet corner to hide in until all these questions go away.

Has freestyling your Trim Healthy eating plan turned into a recipe for stress?

Do you feel like you might just explode if you have to field one more question or make one more decision?

While we don’t want to live in calorie counting land, living without a plan is a sure recipe for hormonal disaster.

Let’s take a 30,000 foot view to see what is going on in your body when you try freestyling decisions every day.

Estrogen serves as your main hormone to counter cortisol and works as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. 

Cortisol is your primary stress...

There is a lot of resistance about this topic of meal prep and menu planning and because I've been coaching women for several years, I know this is a BIG issue.

First, I want to address this with our mindset. Allowing your brain to tell you how hard this process it, or that you don't have enough time or that you don't know what to fix is not helpful. All those negative thoughts will not help you create a plan that you can sustain. 

When you think those negative thoughts, it brings up the feelings of dread, which then makes you procrastinate, when you procrastinate, you really don't get anything done. And you don't really start or give yourself the opportunity to make good choices. 

What you need to have is a good mindset around preparing and prepping. 

So first, I want you to take some time, and really start cultivating some helpful thoughts, some thoughts like - “Wow, even though I don't love prepping and planning, this will set me up...

For many of you, the biggest hindrance to following a Trim Healthy Mama fat loss food plan is..the plan?

Not that you don’t know what to eat or how to fuel your body well. 

But the basics of choosing what to eat each meal and then planning it out becomes very complicated and overwhelming.

It doesn’t have to be this way!

Let’s make this easy & brainless. None of us in midlife need to be stressed about feeding our families or ourselves. It is time for you to make a plan for yourself. I know most of you are diligent to make sure your family and work have systems and plans set up, but I bet you don’t always make time to create the plan you need for yourself. 

Your brain might be telling you that this will be hard, or that you don’t need this but we are going to override those unhelpful thoughts. “It’s too hard” limits you, and “I don’t know what I’m going to...

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They don’t call menopause the big “change” for nothing!

There is truly an astounding amount of change that is happening in your body during this time. Changing hormones necessitates changing lifestyle and diet so let’s look at one of the most important things you can focus on every single day.

What you put on the end of your fork is the best place to start when you want better health, supported hormones, and fat loss. And a key change you can make in your everyday diet is to eat enough protein. This is not the time to limit your protein intake but it is a great season to expand the protein you do consume. First, you will choose animal protein, then fish, then choose plant protein options. A lot of the protein choices in this guide can be used for Energizing meals on the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan as long as your...

What satisfies you? 

When was the last time you paused to reflect and notice if you are satisfied or not? 

If you’re like me, it’s been a while. 

But I’m doing it now. 

Satisfied is a word that reminds me of the children’s story about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. She goes about the bears’ home proclaiming something to be too much of this or not enough of that until she finds the one that is “just right”. That seems to be a good definition of satisfied - just right. 

I love the verse in Matthew 14:20a which says, “And they all ate and were satisfied.” 

Not too much or too little, but just right! 

This is about one of the miraculous times that Jesus fed thousands of people when he only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish at his disposal. 

He made sure that they had enough to satisfy their hunger. 

They didn’t lack and they didn’t dip into gluttony. And what about Jesus? Did...

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Did you know that the majority of disease begins with inflammation and hormone imbalance within the body?

A great way to combat that inflammation is by...

Menopause keys to weight loss

Choose foods that are anti-inflammatory to your body. Include foods that boost your gut health and gut microbiome and eat foods that are known to support hormone balance. This is the time of life to choose quality. No more cheap oils and processed, packaged “foods”. Your body is ready and eager to be blessed with nourishing foods. 

Protein is Queen!

Every single meal you consume needs to have a protein source at the center. Begin to diversify your protein choices by including more fish and more plant proteins. 

Find ways to lighten up your meals and use less heavy dairy products. Your body is less efficient at burning through some of the heavier fats, so it is time to make some changes.

An easy way to lighten up your protein-centered meal can be by choosing a protein (think fish), a non-starchy vegetable, and a garnish of fat, roughly about a Tablespoon.

 Instead of a Heavy S meal (animal protein + cheese + mayo...