How weight loss without exercise is actually possible
[and even helps improve your menopause symptoms too]
I hope it can help you too x. Please read the disclaimer for more info.
How weight loss without exercise is possible and even preferable for woman around menopause.
Weight loss myths can be damaging…
Most people think that in order to lose weight you simply have to eat less and workout more.
It’s just calories in/calories out. Right? It’s your own fault if you are overweight. You just don’t try hard enough.
They think you just need to exercise harder, move more, eat less and less.
Spend your life at the gym, pounding away on a treadmill. Refuse all the foods you love. Live your life on a starvation diet. If you don’t it’s your own fault. You aren’t moving enough and you’re eating too much.
We get told this story all the time… from governments, from food manufacturers, from the {mostly male} exercise industry, all across the media.
It makes me so angry and I have to tell you… IT’S JUST PLAIN WRONG.
Women are shamed if they fail to lose weight, especially around Menopause. They are told they just didn’t try hard enough.
Women at menopause can be sent down the wrong track
What’s worse is that it sends a lot of people down the wrong route. They follow the wrong advice and feel like it’s their own fault when they can’t lose weight.
They think maybe there’s just something about their body that means it’s impossible for them to get back in shape. They get in a cycle of obsessive exercise, yo-yo dieting, losing, gaining and ending up heavier than when they started.
Maybe you have been there. It’s depressing, right?
Most exercise advice is often written by young men for other young men. This exercise advice may work for 20-year-old men but it certainly doesn’t work for midlife women.
So let’s bust this common myth about losing weight around Menopause & Midlife.
Myth: You just have to exercise harder/longer/faster and the weight will come off.
Nope. Ever had a week when you have exercised yourself to a frazzle with crazy aerobics workouts only to find you have actually put weight ON when you weighed yourself?
This is because exercising too hard raises Cortisol.
Cortisol is the fat-storing stress hormone that a lot of us struggle with due to our crazy stressed out lives. This can mess up all your hormones and mean storing fat in the belly area.
The problem is that exercising too hard raises Cortisol even more. So every time you pound that treadmill or force yourself to run you are actually making the problem worse.
A study done by Dresden University in Germany conclusively concluded that runners, cyclists, and endurance athletes had significantly higher levels of cortisol in their bloodstreams.
This cortisol can unbalance your hormones leading to more belly fat in the long run. Even if you exercise to a frazzle, the belly fat just won’t shift.
Cortisol has a knock on effect on other hormones too. It can create a cascade of hormonal interruption which makes menopause symptoms worse. The harder you try to “get fit” the worse things can get. You can get trapped in a frustrating cycle.
Do the right kind of exercise for weight loss
I’m not saying all exercise is bad. The right exercise can help your flexibility, speed up your metabolism lower your stress and lower your Cortisol. It can be great for mental health too.
A study done by the Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia found that Yoga caused significant decreases in resting Cortisol Levels. It’s a great thing to do to find calm and increase your flexibility.
My favourite exercise is walking in nature. You don’t need to run. Take a brisk walk in the great outdoors. Feel the wind on your face. You are increasing your metabolism and lowering your Cortisol levels at the same time.
It’s also important to put emphasis on relaxation. This is starting to be seen as vitally important both for weight loss and improving menopause symptoms. Taking time out to do some meditation or just do something that you find relaxing can help to drop your cortisol levels further. Relaxation is a key part of losing weight as we are all often too stressed around midlife and put ourselves last.
You can’t outrun a bad diet
Remember, weight loss is 80% nutrition and only 20% exercise, if that. As they say “You can’t outrun a bad diet”
Can you lose weight without exercise?
Yes. Absolutely. The key is to get your diet right and you can lose weight without exercise.
If you need a structured and detailed weight loss plan that guides you through exactly what to eat and when to eat it, this may help you. I designed it specifically for women struggling with their weight at midlife… and exercise is optional!
You can read more about my Belly Fat Solution Weight Loss Plan here
Love and light
The Belly Fat Solution – 14 Day Menopause Weight Loss Plan
The Holistic Way To Balance your Hormones, Lose Weight & Feel Great – in 14 days
If you need a holistic and structured weight loss plan that walks you through losing your Menopause Belly Fat this may help you. It’s designed specifically for women struggling with their weight at midlife… and exercise is optional!
You can read more about my Belly Fat Weight Loss Plan here
Helen
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