How can exercise help me to lose my menopause belly fat?
How can exercise help me to lose my menopause belly fat?
A lot of people tell me that they don’t have time for exercise. Or that exercise doesn’t help them to lose weight, so why should they bother? It makes sense, lots of us, especially women in midlife – have been taught to think that exercise is a chore or a punishment.
In reality, exercise might not be the main driver for weight loss but creating the right type of routine to support your goals and not trying to turn into a fitness goddess overnight! – can have big benefits.
Combined with a cleaner, nourishing whole food diet, it’s an absolutely essential part of maintaining your health and wellness and can leave you feeling unstoppable!
It’s also hugely important that you establish the right exercise habits – the wrong workouts can harm your wellness journey and leave you uninspired and exhausted.
In this blog, I get under the skin of exercise and explore how you can overcome workout challenges to drive effective fat loss and wellbeing after menopause.
It starts with what’s on your plate
I know. I know. I say this a lot – but it’s absolutely fundamental to your fat loss journey.
While exercise can enhance weight loss and help you to build a toned, strong body, it isn’t going to be the main driver of fat loss, especially at first.
A nutrient dense, whole food approach diet, is the foundation of successful fat loss and a healthy lifestyle at any age – and that’s the first place to start. A healthy eating plan is also going to give you the energy and motivation to truly engage with exercise and feel great.
Like I said above, you’re not going to become a fitness goddess overnight. That’s ok. This isn’t about looking like an impossibly toned Instagram guru; it’s about building strength and stamina that will serve you for your wise women years to come, so, start slow, and ideally with expert guidance to build a supportive, rewarding routine and establish accountability.
The benefits will feel tiny at first but over time they will snowball. This is especially important if you’re coming from a base of no exercise at all.
Don’t rush this, don’t hurt yourself, and listen to your body. In the long run, exercise will help you to burn additional calories, and building lean muscle will encourage your body to expend more energy, even when you’re resting.
In midlife, symptoms can act as a huge barrier to your natural get up and go.
You probably feel tired and foggy – both of which can be exacerbated by poor diet and lack of movement.
Exercise, combined with cleaner and more controlled eating, good hydration, a healthy sleep routine and tackling stress, can help to reduce remaining and most common symptoms after menopause, and empower you to get your groove back. Exercise will also support your overall wellness, so get started and take that first step to feeling great.
I often speak to women who feel like they are doing all the right things. They are eating healthy foods, hitting the gym, walking daily and still not losing any weight.
This can be incredibly frustrating, but it is a great time to stop and reassess. Often, you may not be eating quite as cleanly as you think, or portion size is an issue. You could be overtraining and triggering the release of a stress hormone, cortisol, which causes the body to hold onto excess fat stores.
In this scenario, it’s a great idea to seek some professional advice either online or face-to-face to get an objective look at your routine. I promise, you’re not stuck but you may need to switch some things up to see results.
The truth is that exercise is more than good for you, it’s an essential part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. and finding the right exercise or workout that you gel with can be a revelation.
Whether it’s walking, strength training, Pilates, or something completely different – keep searching until you find something that feels good to you.
Di x
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