One of the secrets we teach to transform your life is living by the 80/20 rule.
Literally, it means following our guidelines for weight loss and kicking peri/menopause symptoms to the kerb 80% of the time. And during the other 20%, letting life take over. Because it does, doesn’t it?
I always say you’ve got to make allowances for living in the 21st century!
And it makes it very doable because really, you don’t want to be making life too difficult for yourself in midlife.
The reason I always include ‘weight’ in here is not that I’m the ‘weight police’ but because I know it’s one of your main midlife bugbears. Certainly, belly fat or ‘meno belly’ is. And it’s probably one of the reasons you’re here – to get help with it.
Something I find very helpful is to shift the focus to health because health becomes super important post-40 but it also takes that weight pressure off. And by default, you usually end up dropping kgs anyway so win-win!
So let’s cut to the chase.
How to Lose Weight & Transform Your Life
To start with, we totally understand that it can be difficult feeling your clothes tightening on you and the numbers of the scales rising.
Add to that your body shape changing as estrogen shifts fat deposits from the hips and thighs to the abdomen. As a result of this and menopause hormonal changes you can expect to put on a couple of kgs but more than that is a little too much.
You might be interested to know that hormonal ratios (androgens/testosterone to estrogen) are what cause us to move to more of an apple shape. Source
However, don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s unrealistic to have the same body in our 40s, 50s,60s and 70s as we did in our 20s.
Seriously, there is so much going on in our bodies around perimenopause / menopause and post-menopause hormonally. It’s not just about our sex hormones. We become more insulin resistant, more vulnerable to an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) and the stress hormone often cortisol rises.
Overall, it creates a perfect storm for weight gain because when any of things arise – and they’re common – the body will store fat, especially around the tummy and hold onto it for dear life.
One reason it’s soooooo important is to avoid stress as much as possible. Not only is it important for your mental health, but it’ll also help mitigate peri symptoms and weight gain too!
Science Lesson Over, Let’s Move On
I’m here to tell you, that you CAN get your mojo back and fit your jeans again. Hallelujah!
But it does take a bit of learning and commitment. There’s no sugar coating that.
As with most things we value in life there’s a little bit of work involved.
But First, How NOT To Succeed
I see it all the time – women putting on weight, signing up for marathons and starving themselves. And if you’re thinking of this please DON’T!
I don’t usually get that emphatic but that’s how important it is. This is totally counterproductive as the body goes into a compensatory state. Remember when I said earlier, that it’ll hold on to weight for dear life? This is why.
(It’s a different story if you’re an athlete, you will be well versed in how your body rolls.)
But for most of us, less is more and that’s why we love the 80/20 rule (and you will too).
How To Lose Weight With The 80/20 Rule
Image by Austin Distel @unsplash
The ’80/20 Weight Loss’ Rule
80% food
20% movement
The truth is that 90% of weight management comes down to what you do in the kitchen.
Food is paramount.
Wholesome, minimally processed, plant-centred food is your BFF friend. Not only will it help with weight loss, but it will also help minimise peri/menopause symptoms and reduce chronic disease risk. As a result, you’ll be brimming with vitality and your skin will glow!
Gotta love that right?
Moving your body is still important for many, many reasons including bone strength, overall health and flexibility but it’s only about 5-10% of the weight-loss equation.
So many people are surprised at this but science has shown it.
The Energy Deficit For Weight Loss
It’s a pretty basic equation that we need to create an energy or kilojoule/calorie deficit to use the fat we have stored for fuel.
So our body needs to use more of the fuel (calories) than what we put into it with food. That’s why whole foods are so good because they’re so packed with nutrients that they keep us fuller for longer.
Movement/exercise is important too because it’s a key contributor to our BMR or basal metabolic rate.
The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Your BMR is how much energy your body uses when it’s at rest. Indeed, thermogenesis also plays a role because your body uses energy to digest the food you eat.
For example, if you drink a glass of cold water, the body uses energy to heat it to body temperature and then utilises it.
Interestingly:
The BMR accounts for 60-75% of our energy expenditure. (This decreases as we grow older however resistance training can raise it).
Thermogenesis – aka the energy we use for digesting and absorbing our food – accounts for 10%.
Try this tool from MyFitnessPal to help you work out how much energy you burn through your chosen exercise.
Let’s Talk About Food
Food is everything when we work with you to transform your life! So
10 Food Wisdoms To Live By:
Yes, you’ve heard it before but ensure you’re drinking enough water. Here are some beautiful infused water recipes – DM us if you’d like a Water Tracker sheet.
Avoid all added sugars. Seriously sugar is not your friend, especially when it comes to insulin resistance. Oh, and skin wrinkling – let me know if you’d like to learn more.
Remove anything in a packet and refined carbohydrates from your diet. Carbohydrates are a necessary macronutrient but it’s the refined variety that causes problems. Know that all carbs are turned into sugar in the body.
To make it easy avoid white sugars and white flours.
Eliminate caffeine and alcohol while you’re losing weight. Caffeine triggers cortisol and alcohol provides unnecessary, empty calories.
Eat more phytochemical-rich, anti-inflammatory vegetables in all of the colours of the rainbow. At first, it can seem like a tall order but if you aim for five to 10 servings daily you’ll begin to notice phenomenal shifts in your body, your moods and your skin.
Add plenty of fibre to your day – the five-10 serves will take care of that nicely as well as whole grains and beans, chickpeas and peas. Fibre acts like a broom and keeps you pooping regularly aiding elimination and getting rid of toxins.
Did we mention minimally processed whole foods? Fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains including brown rice, oats, quinoa, and healthy fats such as extra virgin olive/avocado/coconut oils and avocado.
Lean protein keeps your blood sugar stable (reducing insulin resistance), builds hormones, bone and tissues and keeps you fuller for longer. A palm-sized portion at every meal of eggs, tofu, tempeh, beans, peas, lentils and, if you eat them, fish or chicken.
Our 80/20 Rule
We always recommend:
Putting your attention on your health – weight will then fall into place.
Keeping a food diary (DM us if you’d like one).
Serving your food on a smaller plate.
Using our plate distribution: ½ veggies, ¼ lean protein, ¼ complex carbs, thumb-sized healthy fat.
Have a salad (warm or cold depending on the season) daily.
Front-loading, or eating the bulk of your food earlier in the day.
Not eating three to four hours before bed.
The Takeaway?
The 80/20 rule makes losing weight and transforming your life more doable. And when it comes to losing weight what you eat matters most.
No matter what, “you can’t outrun a bad diet.” Source
Need help?
If you would like some step-by-step help to get rid of belly fat, increase insulin sensitivity, love your liver and gut and create space for happy hormones, happy weight, happy skin and happy life, do get in touch with me.
I’m Jenna, an accredited holistic health coach with a passion for helping women after 40 with weight gain and bullying peri / menopause hormones.
I do this work because I’ve been there so I pivoted careers and hit the (study) books so that I could find answers and share them with you. 🙂
