[Music] as they say getting older is not for sisses especially if you're a woman there are hot flushes brain fog and the dreaded midlife spread that leave our clothes feeling like they've all shrunk in the dryer women all over the world agree that weight gain at menopause is one of the hardest symptoms to tolerate because it wrecks their self-esteem and stops them from feeling sexy the Chucky fat that came on my belly it affected how I looked at myself that that was not me it affected my self-esteem my my sex drive it was it was unexpected and and terrible my insulin was going up I had very high cortisol levels I had this flabby belly that was really kind of embarrassing I felt like a blob just like a big fat blob um I didn't know what to do uh I tried to lose weight tried different diets nothing worked um I'd lose weight then I gained more and it just was a a continuous you know uh cycle of Hell basically so why do we gain weight at menopause and how do we get back to looking and feeling like our old selves again it's all ahead on Marian's JS menopause Solutions as we tackle the challenges of the midlife bulge so stay with us [Music] major funding for this program is brought to you in part by during menopause a woman can lose significant bone mass in fact over 50 half of all women will likely experience an osteoporotic fracture osteostrong is a unique system for developing your skeletal strength that uses bone building exercises for osteoporosis getting older doesn't mean getting weaker Osteo a proud supporter of public television we were told about the change but we were never told it would feel like this at the touch of a button Ember wave provides a cooling sensation Ember Labs is a proud supporter of public [Music] television I'm menopausal but PA me you're joking right I'm just getting started it's the start of my new life this is me no pause Neo vadel Bishi committed to skin Health [Music] Science hello I'm Marian Stewart I'm often referred to as the pioneer of the natural menopause movement because my team and I have helped tens of thousands of women to manage their menopause naturally on today's show we're going to be focusing on why do we gain weight at the time of the menopause and how can we get it under control we're going to be looking at the magic of mindful eating the secret to melting away that belly fat and also looking at supplements that help us to get back to a healthy weight and some diet and lifestyle tips but first let's go and meet women who were struggling with their weight when they got to manopause for no apparent reason I was gaining weight and it was very scary I was really not finding a reason for it to happen but the pounds were going on and going on and I had this flabby belly that was really kind of embarrassing when I stepped into menopause I was expecting hot flashes what I was not expecting is my body to fail me to change in ways that I could couldn't seem to control all of a sudden I had cottage cheese Chunk in my middle and I looked in the mirror I'm like who is that that's not me I became vegan and I was always really healthy um but nevertheless I just kept gaining more and more weight my insulin was going up I had very high cortisol levels and no matter what I seem to do I just couldn't keep the weight off and terrible bloating after eating um and water retention I didn't realize gaining weight uh would impact me so much um but it really did especially hitting um midlife I felt terrible most of the time I uh didn't have any energy it was hard to breathe um and just looking at yourself in the mirror you just feel gross according to the Mayo Clinic many women start to gain weight a few years before manopause during a Time called Perry manopause weight gain then commonly continues at a rate of 1 and A2 pound per year as a woman goes through her 50s I spoke to gastroenterologist and obesity specialist Dr Michelle palman about the reasons our metabolism slows down during this very challenging time menopause can be very challenging for women when it comes to not only losing weight but maintaining a healthy weight over time now why does this happen well when we go through menopause that has huge effects on our hormones including a key hormone which is estrogen and estrogen has a key role in our metabolism and in our skeletal muscle now let's talk about the skeletal muscle mass the amount of muscle mass that we have in our body plays a huge role in our metabolic rate and as we get older and when our hormones change often times we will lose muscle and when we lose muscle our basil metabolic rate gets even slower so the key Point here is that what we were able to eat when we were 20 30 30 40 or 45 may not be the same foods that we can eat when we're 50 or 55 and still maintain that healthy weight now let's talk about how Foods affect our microbiome because the microbiome is so critical in our overall health as well as disease ingredients that we eat on a daily basis whether they are anti-inflammatory that would be foods like nuts and seeds fruits vegetables whole grains those have a very positive effect on the gut microbes that inhabit our intestine and our intestine is our largest immune organ so what we eat on a typical day has an immediate effect on whether or not our systemic inflammation is high or whether it's low now foods that have high fructose corn syrup or processed Meats like deli meat have actually the opposite effect and those can actually play a negative role on our microbiome and really the microbiome is key in really having an OP Optimal Health particularly during menopause and Beyond those menopausal years so there are so many things that we as women can do not starting when we're 50 but starting today it's about making the next right decision not all perfect decisions to allow us to live our best years even after the age of 50 or 60 later in the show The Art of eating mindfully grab yourself a piece of dried fruit or something to eat to share the mindful eating experience So speaking of eating it all starts here in the grocery store so let's get it right from the beginning what you eat has a huge part to play in how you feel as well as how much you weigh don't come in here hungry never go shopping on an empty stomach when you're hungry you're bound to make wild impulse purchases eat regular wholesome food and don't skip meals so you don't get too hungry have home-cooked food when you can alternatively go for healthy fast food instead of junk food and get your sweet fix from intrinsically sweet food so fresh fruit for example dried fruit fruit strips sugar-free Jam anything that has a nice mouth feel but doesn't contain refined sugar and keep some healthy snacks in your bag and in your office so that you're not tempted to Veer off the path alcohol knocks most nutrients sideways and each glass contains a significant number of calories so it's best to keep it to a minimum for now and finally take time out from your busy day to relax while you're eating and Savor each mouthful of food coming up cardio kills calories plus slimming down the meno belly all ahead with mitsuko the ballerina Rock Girl stubborn belly f f as we reach menopause is something that so many women struggle with Dr Michelle pelman tells us why this happens and what we can do about it that stubborn belly fat or spare tire around the midsection that's so incredibly common when we as women are going through per menopause or menopause often times that extra fat is the first to come but the last to go but the good news is that there are still things that you and I can do on a daily basis to help get rid of that extra fat just realizing that it can take more time moving our body on a regular basis making sure that we are maintaining as much muscle as possible now just because you go to the gym and do core exercises does not mean the belly Fat's going to come off the midsection but if you're able to do resistance training and increase your muscle mass and increase your basil metabolic rate then you're able to actually get rid of that belly fat but it's not going to happen tomorrow it may take longer than you and anticipate and eating really good Whole Food plant-based diets can also be extremely beneficial and that includes things like edamame or tofu foods that will increase your natural estrogen levels so the good news is you have control over that extra spare tire are Cravings making you crazy are you driving out after dark to get chocolate when you wake up in the morning and resolve not to do that it happens for a reason and I'm going to share that that very often we've got low levels of important nutrients things like chromium magnesium and B vitamins and they are all necessary for normal blood glucose control we're only born with a 16th of an ounce of chromium and it gets less as we get older so by the time we get to midlife we pretty much run out so I'm going to share some foods with you today that are rich in all these lovely nutrients so first of all some turkey which you can have on whole grain bread and you can have that with some salad arugula and pickles salmon you can have salmon in a salad you can have it for dinner or you can just simply put it on a rice cake for lunch bell peppers are another Rich sauce and so is black pepper which you can sprinkle liberally on your dinner and then you've got hardboard eggs you can eat these On The Run have them for lunch or a snack and pickles I love grapes also a really rich sauce and so are almonds and Brazil nuts and if you're going out you want to make sure you take something with you so you don't actually get tempted to get chocolate so take some lovely black cherries or fruit you like with a bag of almonds and you can Munch those so that you're tanking up on chromium magnesium and B vitamins and keeping yourself in the driving seat mindfulness is a practice based on Zen Buddhism that has become a popular way of self-calming and more recently a way of changing eating behaviors in the case of mindful eating it's been shown that we eat less when we're eating mindfully so Tony tell me why it's important to eat mindfully ah so important awareness being in the present moment allowing our senses to connect with the food we're about to eat as we look at this Feast with the eyes right here so much to choose from right I've already made my mind up on the cherries oh I'm glad you said that touching it and just touching it feel what it feels like yeah right and kind of acknowledge what's going to happen as we bring it to our mouths bring it into our mouth smelling it is good close your eyes and smell it isn't that nice yeah it's lovely as we put it into our mouth feel how it feels on your tongue roll it around now as you bite into it acknowledge what's happening on the pallet how that sends a signal a message to your brains you appreciate this B that tastes Exquisite yes yes absolutely and the more you shoe and you with gratitude and love invite that into it absolutely wow I love cherries but I've never tasted Cherry like this yeah it's amazing yeah just practicing that and almost with anything that we eat you'll find that you will get these types of results types of a lot of people have lost weight I'm not surprised because I could have eaten three mouthfuls by the time I'm just having one small cherry yeah that's how it works so that's amazing mindfulness is such a beautiful thing thank you I'm I'm feeling really satisfied and now I'm going to go and do some exercise hi mitsuko hi Maran how are you I'm really good what have you got for us today well we are here in beautiful Windwood Florida where there's a lot of graffiti a lot of color A Feast for our eyes so I wanted to say we don't need a gym yep the world is our gym the streets are too join me right over here with this container it's either a wall or a container you're going to go ahead and face it you're going to make sure that your elbow and your palms are nice and straight and you're going to go back a little bit there you go you want to make sure your back is completely straight and you're just going to rise and down and have a conversation with your friends there you go simple simple a wall container anything we [Music] do box to Center two 2 3 4 4 3 2 3 4 4 2 you have it so there's a few belly movements that I personally enjoy that I think most women enjoy and they're easy to do and you don't need the floor so I want you to stand in a V bend your knees slightly and we you know with the pelvises you're going to thrust it forward so it's almost a contraction and then you're going to pin it back we're going to do that a couple times ready good one two three there you go you feel it it's almost very tight on your spine there you get to flex everything to rock yes I love it I love it very very good this is such fun isn't it you look like you're enjoying yourself wasn't that great [Music] this is fantastic isn't it we had so much fun remember you don't need a gym the world is your gym absolutely and exercising outside mother nature and it's free it's free and beautiful keep moving always free menopause during menopause after menopause move move move yes thank you you're [Music] welcome do you sometimes feel like a beach whale are you piling on pounds especially around the middle it's another one of the most common difficulties women experience as they transition through menopause and Beyond we can Kickstart our metabolism by getting the balance right in our diet and lifestyle then you can lose weight without dieting in a matter of weeks don't get derailed by stress you can reduce elevated cortisol levels the stress hormone which causes us to accumulate all that stubborn belly fat by practicing regular relaxation and yoga curb the Cravings by consuming in foods rich in magnesium B vitamins and the trace mineral chromium which are all needed for normal blood glucose control good sources include eggs beef chicken sardines walnuts Brazil nuts almonds and black pepper and keep dancing because exercise helps to burn fat take a moment with me to manage your menopause naturally food and exercise are huge components to attaining a healthy weight but what about natural supplements found in nature nutritional expert Dr Diana minck weighs in well I first want to say that there could be many reasons for imbalanced body composition it could be anything from stress to hormones to what we're eating to lack of physical activity so I do think that every woman needs to check this out with their own Healthcare practitioner aside from that I do think that there are three different supplements that could benefit most people the first one is green tea kakin green tea is one of the most well-studied teas even drinking two to three cups of decaffinated green tea per day can help us with metabolism number two would be fibers those Prebiotic fermenting fibers to help us with our gut microbiome we need to nourish the gut in order to be in better balance with our metabolism and our body composition and then thirdly bringing in some of those warming spices and herbs especially cinnamon cinnamon has been shown to be an insulin sensitizer and we know that helping our body with insulin means that we're going to be able to metabolize glucose better so those are my three top choices for supplements for better body composition eating colorful foods will help us to have more colorful moods and to enable us to feel a bit better which can enable different food choices secondly getting more creative when we get out of our ruts out of our boredom with creativity we start to do different things we might exercise we might sleep better we might make better food choices and then thirdly variety getting Variety in all things especially food to help with our nutritional status I do think that shaking things up can help us to look at our lives in a different way and perhaps even how we feel in our bodies we've talked about why we gain weight during menopause and also about the foods to avoid not to mention the tips and tricks related to healthy eating and exercise next I spoke to Liz josephburg she's the celebrity Dart coach who helped aister Jennifer Hudson to transform her body and maintain the gain let's find out how brain science and stress causes us to yo-yo Dart and dive into some of lizz's top tips to help us to lose weight without dieting weight loss in menopause rarely comes down to a lack of food knowledge I I don't often see a woman in this age range not know that an Apple's a better choice than a candy bar but there's this massive gap between action and intention right Our intention is to grab the Apple but the action is grabbing the candy bar instead so in that gap between the action and intention live our habits and habits can be wonderful things but they can also be detrimental we love them because they help us not have to decide how to wash our hair every day or drive to the office but if we've created detrimental habits they can stand in the way of our weight loss progress for example if you're sitting and hitting the snooze bar in the morning maybe waking up 15 or 20 minutes later than you should and you're getting that stress hormone going and cortisol racing and you don't have time to create a healthy breakfast you get to the office your intention is to eat right but you grab the dut instead so we talk about triggering better habits it's not really about the Doughnut it was always about the snooze bar so we go back and we trigger moving that clock across the room so you put your feet on the floor you stand up and now you've got those extra minutes to make a healthy breakfast and get to the office on time and not be living in the stress State because stress is elevated for us women in menopause right as cortisol is rising as progesterone is falling and what I often find is that women in this group have higher levels of stress just with life in general High higher pressures and often don't even recognize what stress feels like or how it manifests so we're always trying to teach you the habit of proactive Stress Management right getting in and triggering new things like you know um getting outside for a little bit listening to music grounding a small bit of meditation because what we know is that higher cortisol levels are going to lead to higher levels of body fat and you can reduce those cortisol levels cortisol is like a radio on in the background if you don't go in and trigger a proactive reduction it will stay on so you are not broken go in and Trigger those new behaviors isn't that great to know now let's go and check in with the ladies and see whether making diet and lifestyle changes had any effect on their weight having put on seven kilos at least during my my menopause and trying everything that I thought was the right thing to do um when I did the work with Marian I found that my insulin levels came down my cortisol levels came down and so did my weight after I learned what I needed to do what things I needed to change during menopause because the rules are completely different the pounds came off and they came off where I wanted them to in my my stomach um and beyond that but beyond finding myself again I could think again my brain fog was gone I had a pep in my step I looked at myself like oh there's you I know you I don't know that other person I don't like how that other person looks and feels and this is me I found myself again so I find myself now with a lot more ease of losing weight I'm eating healthy I'm eating smart as I had been but I'm not gaining weight I'm losing it I'm poning up and I'm finding myself much more fit in fact I've gone down a pants size the weight came off it just like melted off I lost weight within like a month and a half I lost about 12 to 15 lbs and the great thing is I've kept the weight off and that was like uh when I was 54 and I'm 58 now I'm I can wear the same clothes I don't have like the fat C of clothes and skinny C of clothes which is really nice and it really has helped my pocket but it also has given me so much energy and a lot of positivity because I feel good about myself and what's the best way to prevent menopause weight gain here are some basic tips that can help you get going towards your healthy weight get moving now is the time to increase your physical activity aerobic exercise and strength training may help you lose extra pounds and stay at a healthy weight as you gain muscle you'll find you burn calories faster I remember staying active will help you sleep more soundly which also has an effect on your weight limit alcohol which add extra calories to your diet and finally avoid the seafood diet don't serve your food from dishes at the dining table instead place your meal straight onto your plate in the kitchen so that you're not tempted to take seconds or even third helpings as we've shown you menopause doesn't mean you can't be the best version of yourself feeling both healthy and attractive when you learn how to meet your needs the best years are now I hope you found this show inspiring and I look forward to sharing more wisdom with you next time thank you for joining [Music] me this education initiative continues on Marion Stewart's natural menopause.

TV website where you can watch more interviews attend live sessions with Maran and other experts and view video extras and more [Music] major funding for this program was brought to you in part by during menopause a woman can lose significant bone mass in fact over 50 half of all women will likely experience an osteoporotic fracture osteostrong is a unique system for developing your skeletal strength that uses bone building exercises for osteoporosis getting older doesn't mean getting weaker osteostrong a proud supporter of public television I'm menopausal but PA me you're joking right I'm just getting started it's the start of my new life this is me no pause Neo vadal Bishi committed to skin Health [Music] Science we were told about the change but we were never told it would feel like this at the touch of a button Ember wave provides a cooling sensation Ember Labs is a proud supporter of public television [Music]