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Has sleep been your friend or foe since you hit your perimenopause and menopause years? Maybe you’ve struggled since childhood, or maybe this is a whole new symptom that is messing with you.

I wish I had a magic pill that would give you a solid eight hours every night—shoot, if I did, I’d be the first in line to swallow it! But while you may not find answers right away, there are reasons why you need to keep trying to get more sleep in midlife and ways to support your body during this time.

Sleep can hold the key to not only feeling rejuvenated but also to weight management, hormonal balance, and overall well-being.

Why is Sleep Important?

Midlife introduces many challenges, including sleep, which is primarily driven by hormonal changes. As estrogen levels decline, sleep disturbances become more prevalent, leading to midnight awakenings, racing thoughts, and hormonal...

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If you’re feeling frustrated by your jeans feeling tighter or loosening your belt another notch, then you aren’t alone. A woman’s body goes through multiple changes between the ages of 40 and 60. Some of these changes you’ll notice (weight gain) and others you won’t (higher cortisol).

But often the result of both is the same - needing to buy larger jeans and an increased muffin top. 

Dealing with stubborn weight and a wider waistline was not my dream for midlife and I doubt it is yours. So let me walk you through 4 Strategies you can start to move toward a trim belly in midlife.

The Mindset Shift: Understanding the Power of Nutrition

There are specific reasons why we gain weight in midlife. Menopause isn’t all to blame. 

Age-related factors like decreased estrogen, loss of muscle mass, and increase in cortisol levels all play a part in the fat packing around your...

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In midlife, you do not want to exercise in a fasted state. 

That is the bottom line. 

As a woman, especially in menopause, you want to reduce any type of stress that can cause a rise in cortisol, which in turn causes a rise in insulin, which is a fat-storage hormone. Exercise, especially exercise in a fasted state, can be somewhat stressful. We want to work with cortisol levels. We want to work with our menopausal body and not work against it.

TIMING AND TYPE OF EXERCISE

So one of the things you really want to focus on is pre-workout fueling. 

Overall, it is best to exercise intensely, and that would be either some type of HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout or a workout where you're getting your heart...

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"I hate the belly fat that I have. I'm on bio-identical hormones and can't get rid of the tire. I don't want to go through surgery; I don't know what to do; please don't tell me to start running; I can't do it."

Does anyone else feel the same?

This question came from a member of my Peri/Menopause Trim Healthy Mama Community.

No, I'm not going to tell you to start running, and I'm not going to encourage you to exercise more. Or eat less. 

But there are multiple things that contribute to that spare tire/muffin top you are seeing. And a lot of it has to do with your age and your hormones. 

Extra fat is frustrating and a health risk for women, especially in midlife. 

The fat you see around your middle is most likely visceral...

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Hitting menopause put me in a bad attitude.

I wasn't prepared.

I wasn't educated.

And I didn't care about mastering menopause since surviving this life change would be enough. Personally, I just wanted to cancel the whole thing.

You too?

I tend to always start things with a lousy attitude only to realize that it could be more helpful. And I miss all the good things in my challenging situation when I allow a bad mood. 

All women experience hormonal shifts, and it's important to understand that what worked in your twenties, thirties, or forties won't be helpful to your lifestyle and eating plan as much now. This is due to a decline in key hormones. 

You may notice this decline as hot flashes, night waking, and depression, or you might experience signs of hormone decline like decreased energy levels. Lower estrogen levels tend to...

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There are days the constant bombardment of questions has me ready to catch the next ride to crazy town.

I'm not talking about big, scary decisions but the daily ones. The decisions you need to make every single day.

What's for dinner? When should I exercise? How many meals should I eat? 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?

The level of panic that starts to set in makes me feel like Lucille Ball in "I Love Lucy" trying to deal with too much candy on the conveyor belt.

It's all too much!

via GIPHY

DECISION FATIGUE & BELLY FAT

When you live in this state of panic and constant decision-making, you are setting yourself up physiologically for increased cortisol levels. Those cortisol levels trigger your body to store fat at your waistline and create an uptick in inflammation.

By leaving multiple decisions...

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Are you seeking that ray of hope to finally conquer your weight loss journey and maintain a healthier you?

Ready to leave behind the feeling of hopelessness and embrace the chance to shed those stubborn pounds for good?

Let's take the confusion out of this process and get super simple on what works in menopause to shrink your waistline and regain your vibrant health; what you put on the end of your fork everyday matters. Making choices of good foods, whole foods, healing foods, and hormone-supporting foods will bring positive change in your body, but that's not all. Strength training twice weekly is essential to shrinking fat cells and increasing your metabolic rate. But a few more critical areas in your life are needle movers. Once you have created your fat-loss food plan and have a routine for strength training, you can start working on lifestyle factors. ...

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Wouldn't life be simpler if losing weight was actually a calorie-in/calories-out math equation? But in reality, eating less and exercising more does not guarantee you lose belly fat. And as you get older, it can create the opposite and cause you to increase in weight and inches instead. So, let's get this figured out. In menopause, your body needs supported hormones and strategic exercising to burn fat faster without burning you out.

STOP DOING SO MUCH CARDIO

A few decades ago, cardio was all the rage. Women couldn't get enough of it and thought this was the magic pill to weight loss. We now have the research to prove this is not true, and excessive cardio is not beneficial for women at any age. But in menopause, you for sure do not need more cardio. 

Let's also clear up the confusion around cardiovascular disease and cardio exercise. Doing one doesn't negate the other. The cause of...

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...