One of the biggest queries I get from my mid-life friends is how can I get and stay lean? Many of these same ladies in their 40s, 50s and beyond are telling me they eat well, they exercise, and still yet, they can’t get rid of the stubborn pounds that show up around their middles. And, I believe them because many are workout buddies and so I see the struggle firsthand. We can largely thank pre-menopause and menopause for this unwelcomed fluffiness. The changes can be so frustrating and stressful, that many (even the once dedicated) decide to throw in the proverbial towel and allow their fitness to turn into fatness . . . but that’s not healthy, mentally or physically! 

While we can’t completely beat the “the change,” there are ways to keep ahead of this stage of life and minimize unwanted symptoms – like belly fat.  Read on to learn 7 Ways Women Can Blast Middle-Age Belly Fat – you’ll feel better and you’ll #BeYourBestBeast – that’s the personal hashtag / mantra I live by!

So why is this middle-age weight gain even happening? Let me give you the 60-second, 101 on perimenopause-to-menopause weight gain. The female sex hormone, estrogen, starts to drop year by year, month by month, after a certain age, eventually plummeting and practically disappearing as we enter menopause. Middle age women also experience a drop-in testosterone (yes, we have and need this “male” hormone, just not in nearly the quantity as guys).  The average age of menopause, defined as having no period for 12 consecutive months, is 51 years old in the U.S. The perimenopause journey starts about four to 10 years before prior, so in your late 30s or 40s. Point of reference, I am 51 years old, but am not quite “there” yet, so it obviously is very individualized. Anyway, the increasing loss in estrogen and testosterone, creates a number of unwanted problems like a slower metabolic rate, increased insulin resistance, and a reduction in muscle mass – this is the recipe for having a higher body fat ratio. Not to mention, all these physical changes, combined with the stress of life obligations during middle age, can create high cortisol and poor sleep, which are also culprits in perimenopause and menopause weight gain.

Here are 7 Things Women Can Do to Blast Middle-Age Belly Fat and prevent or turn back the clock on perimenopause and menopause weight gain.

Mind Your Protein: This is the number one message I share with my friends, family and middle-aged audience that ranges from soccer moms to hard core athletes. Consuming enough quality protein and the right times is one of the best things you can do for your diet. Protein promotes muscle growth and maintenance, helps prevent muscle breakdown and helps support workout recovery. Protein timing should be spaced fairly evenly throughout the day (approximate four-hour intervals) including breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack or two (depending on your activity level). For meals, strive to consume 25g to 30g of protein at one sitting, snacks can be more like 10g to 15g – unless you had a really intense workout, then feel free to consume more.  When I can, I like to eat whole foods for protein (hello, beef), but many times this is not practical – like breakfast on the go and post-gym snacks . . or in recipes like these yummy Chocolate Protein Baklava Bites. In these cases, a quality protein powder comes to my rescue. I have really been enjoying Bodybuilding.com Signature100% Whey (Chocolate Flavor) and highly recommend it – it has 25g protein per serving with only 2g net carb (yet satisfies my sweet tooth).

Minimize Sugar: A diet with higher protein and fats is going to serve you better in your quest to lose body fat. I’m not a proponent of one diet over another (because I feel that everyone has unique needs), but, personally, I eat a diet of 1/3 protein, 1/3 fat and 1/3 carbohydrate . . . but quality carbohydrates for my workout “fuel” like vegetables and whole grains, and as little added sugar as possible. The American Heart Association says that women should have only 100 calories per day of added sugar (25 grams or 6 teaspoons) but I aim to have just half of this (it’s usually in my chocolate 😉) All drinks I consumer are sugar0free, or sweetened with no-calorie, preferably natural alternatives like stevia or allulose. Also, I never drink fruit juice – if I’m going to enjoy the sugars from fruit, I’d much rather be eating the whole fruit with the additional fiber.

Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients: By middle age, it’s my guess that most of us are in a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation. This inflammation is the enemy of our overall health and wellness (the force behind so much disease) and also can keep us from a lean silhouette. Adding omega-3 fatty acids into the diet can help – foods such as cold-water fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and anchovies are excellent sources, so are nuts and seeds like flax, chia, walnuts. Also take a look to soybeans, spinach and Brussels sprouts! Good insurance on meeting daily dietary goals is to take a fish oil supplement like the Bodybuilding.com Signature Fish Oil.

The Omega 3 in fish oil not only helps to reduce the inflammatory response and slow down the aging process, it also helps to protect joints and ligaments keeping us from being sidelined in workout routines. Studies say that fish oil may help with weight loss since it regulates insulin that converts glucose from food into energy and also increases our metabolism. And, scientists in a new study are now saying that fish oil “turns on” receptors in the digestive tract, fires the sympathetic nervous system and induces storage cells to more efficiently metabolize fat.

Get Good Sleep: Ugh, our hormones and night sweats can leave you tossing and turning all night. Plus, the fact mid-life brings on so many stresses and obligations that it often seems impossible to get a solid 7 or 8 hours per night. Adequate, restorative sleep is essential for muscle building (which comes during deep REM sleep) and also important for optimizing fat-loss hormones such as human growth hormone and leptin.  First, you need to prioritize sleep, go to bed early enough to help ensure success. Also create a good sleeping environment with no distractions such as light, noise, or temperature issues. Also, stop screen time an hour before bed. Also, taking a ZMA (a supplement of zinc and magnesium aspirate, and B6) before bed can help you relax and get you into that deep sleep. If you are working out hard during the day, your mineral levels may be depleted and the boost of zinc will help with metabolic and immune functions – and also support testosterone levels (men and women) Check out my past post on how ZMA can Help Female Athletes

Okay to Caffeine: Using up to 200mg of caffeine in the morning and before a workout can be a great way fight stubborn fat. Not only can caffeine rev up the metabolism, it also provides an energy and mood boost often needed to make it to the gym in the first place! Plus, caffeine is definitely a easy to use (and legal) ergonomic aid for to fuel performance in competitions (see my post on caffeine performance perks and consumption timing). I like sugar-free caffeine options like green tea, coffee, drink mixes with natural sugar substitutes like stevia and allulose. Also, before a workout, I will also go to a “pre-workout” mix especially designed with ingredients to support the needs of more intense physical activity and torching that belly fat – provide energy, delay muscle fatigue and fuel performance. I like Bodybuilding.com Signature Pre-Workout, it comes in a bunch of flavors, is easy to mix up and is sugar free.

Don’t Be Afraid to Lift Heavy: I’m not talking about entering a Strong Woman competition where you have to drag a car around, but I’m saying . . .. ladies, we don’t have to be relegated to the pink dumbbells. About twice a week, try to incorporate some heavier lifting into your workout, something that you can safely pick up, but will fatigue your muscles after 2 to 4 reps. But don’t just stop at one set, rest and then work up to 5 sets. On my heavier lift days, I do deadlifts, military presses and bench presses – for fun I will also throw in weighted pull ups. As I mentioned earlier, as we age, we start losing a significant amount of muscle mass – lifting heavy helps delay the loss and keep a lower body fat ratio for as long as possible. In comparison to doing cardio, which burns both fat AND muscle, lifting weights burns almost exclusively fat!

Don’t Be Scared of “Body Builder” Supplements: Supplements like creatine or glutamine may sound foreign to you or like weird stuff that die-hard muscle heads (and mainly guys) take, not middle-aged moms. However, if you are working out hard and consistently and not seeing the results you want, you should take a look at these two supplements. Creatine (like Bodybuilding.com Signature Creatine Monohydrate) can help with strength, Improve lean body mass, and promote better exercise performance for women too. And, if you’ve ever heard that it will make you bloated, retain water or fell bulky, that’s not usually the case – in fact, a study showed that while you could hold onto a bit of water, it’s actually the guys who retain MORE water than women (haha, justice)! Learn more about what creatine can do for women.  Another supplement to look at in the fight against belly fat is glutamin. Glutamines like Bodybuilding.com Signature Micronized Glutamin  help promote glycogen storage and promote glucose synthesis independent of carbohydrates – a great tool for insulin control, especially on a calorie restricted diet. Also, research is showing that glutamins can help diminish cravings for carbohydrates.  More info here

What is your experience with perimenopausal or menopausal weight gain? If you are an athlete, how has your training and performance changed over the years? Have you tried any of these supplements, what was your experience? I’d love to chat in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer

These are the Bodybuilding.com products I’ve mentioned in this post on  7 Ways Women Can Blast Middle-Age Belly Fat (and that also conveniently come in a money-saving stack — search muscle building stack on their site) I use them to stay lean, recover from workouts and fuel my performance in Spartans, marathons, fitness competitions and gym workouts.

• Bodybuilding.com Signature100% Whey (Chocolate Flavor)
• Body.building.com Signature Pre-Workout
• Bodybuilding.com Signature Fish Oil
• Bodybuilding.com Signature Multi-Vitamin
• Bodybuilding.com Signature ZMA
• Bodybuildingcom Signature Micronized Glutamin
• com Signature Creatine Monohydrate

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