How to lose weight after menopause

I didn't didn't pay much attention to my diet and exercise regime during the early years of my life, I led a very active life and It just wouldn't cross my mind that I would ever put on weight so easily after menopause. I do however recognize the tremendous importance to do so now.
It started slowly, in my mid 40's, I gained a little here and there, lost a little, the pounds piled on and stayed on. How could I have hot flashes and not burn the fat I shall never know. It doesn't seem fair somehow!
It is not laziness in itself but I often find myself watching TV and reaching for the late snacks and the hot chocolate. When children [and husband] have flown the coop we can be a bit on a loose end and food becomes comforting, how often have I felt too tired to move only to sit glued to some mindless sitcom. Why? Simply put, I felt too fat and uncomfortable to go out! Now I don't consider myself obese, I just don't fit into nice clothes anymore, nothing looks quite good and it always is too tight. Maybe some of you reading this can understand where I am coming from.
I decided to change all this when only a few weeks ago a friend took a picture of me when we went out for lunch, oh the embarrassment! Was I really this unshapely blob? Something stopped me from deleting the image and I made the decision then and there to change all that.
I think that I was possessed by some sort of insanity to think that my life was OK, it is not! Being constantly tired, overweight and unfit is not ok
I am only middle aged, this means I still theoretically have the other half of my life to be well, healthy and fit.
I include the picture, see for yourself!

To find out more on losing weight after menopause Click Here!

• sugared and carbonated drinks


• white bread


• white pasta


• take away foods ie: burgers, fries, pizzas


• chocolate bars


• anything that comes in a packet with a lot of numbers in the ingredients list


• cream and fat laden sauces


• potatoes chips out of a packet


• ready made pies

The foods are best left out of your diet altogether, you will see that you can still have all the things you love to eat, just have your treats only once a week and swap all the unhealthy food from the above list with their healthy and nutritious replacements

• wholegrain bread


• wholemeal pasta


• brown rice or wild rice


• green vegetables


• fruits and berries in particular


• nuts


• green tea


• natural spices: ginger, cayenne, turmeric, cinnamon, these will not only boost your metabolism but they are also antioxidants


• fresh herbs


• salads


• home made soups


• natural sugar free yogurt [excellent for digestion]

Tea is great, I drink several cups a day and often instead of making a snack I get brewing.
First of all it is important to get a good loose leaf green tea, my favorite is jasmine tea, it has a lovely flavor and goes well with a touch of honey.

Here are two ingredients I add to plain tea,

some sage leaves, sage is well known to alleviate hot flushes. Add only a few as it can become bitter, sage goes well with black tea and you can add milk if you like.

ginger, I cannot list here all the numerous properties of ginger, I would have to write a separate lens

To make the perfect cup of tea, I first warm the pot with hot water and boil the jug, then I pour out the water add the loose leaf tea and my ginger or sage [both if you like] and wait a few minutes after the water has boiled, I never pour boiling water over my tea, the water should be at about 80 degrees C.

Lastly I put my pot of freshly brewed tea on a tray with my favorite cup and sit somewhere quiet to enjoy.

I like to use my tea time to practice being present , simply sitting down and emptying the mind of all thoughts and just savoring he moment, can make an enormous difference in my day.

I used to buy bread from the health food section at the supermarket but I found it still too uninteresting and very expensive. I then decided to try various bread recipes for the bread oven. I researched what the best flours are to use and what could be added to make the bread as healthy and wholesome as possible. All the diets I saw tell you to eliminate bread altogether, I am not ready to do that. I just love to start my day with a slice of my home made bread and a cup of tea. Later I have fruit and yogurt and some nuts.
Being of European origins, bread was always a big part of my diet, my breakfast used to consist of fresh baguette with lashings of butter and jam followed by a bowl or two of "cafe au lait", not the best breakfast in the world!
The best way for me to still eat bread is to make sure it is a real adjunct to a healthy weight management diet.

Try to use wholemeal wheat flour or my favorites, spelt and kamut. They are usually found in health food stores, but well worth it as theyare older forms of grain and are more digestible.
You can also try your own blend, experiment until you have the mix just right. I often .use a wholegrain premix, it pays to get one with less additives.

For the bread oven, I use

600g of flour
400ml of filtered water
1/2 cup of pepitas
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
2-3 tbsp of freshly ground flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon of dried yeast

I set my bread maker on "medium" and let it bake!

Why use sunflowers seeds?
Sunflower seeds are a wonder food, they are rich in Vit E {another anti-oxidant] as well as B1, magnesium, selenium, folate, phosphorus, tryptophan and copper.
Pepitas
Also rich in magnesium ,a magnesium-rich diet may help reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome (a collection of risk factors leading to heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
They are also rich in B1, B2, niacin, B6 and folic acid
Pepitas as well as sunflower seeds are packed with protein.

Purchase all seeds and nuts as fresh as possible

Here is my favorite way to start the day and stay full longer.

Only use wholegrain oats, they will cook just ask quickly and you will get the full health benefits

• One cup of oats


• Some filtered water


• Dried fruit or raisins or sultanas or dried cranberries [use them all if you like]

Cook it slowly while stirring, it shouldn't take more than 3/4 minutes, take it off the stove and add one or 2 of the following:

• seeds [sunflower and pepita]


• some almonds, 3 to 5 would be enough


• A chopped up banana


• A drizzle of honey if you need sweetener, but remember to go easy, honey still packs all the calories that sugar has it just is healthier


• Add some plain yogurt or a little milk to moisten


This lovely breakfast keeps me going till way after lunch and I know that it will keep me energized longer.
Enjoy

• Walking is a great way: get a good pair of supportive walking shoes, wear loose clothes and start to walk. It may be a small walk to start off but you can increase the distance as you get fitter. Try to incorporate a good hill and set a good pace, try to walk at least for 30 minutes a day. Get a pedometer and set yourself a target, 10.000 steps a day, you will be surprised how much walking you can do while shopping!


• Dance: join a salsa or samba dance group. Alternatively put on your favorite dance music and shake your booty! A good half hour should work up a good sweat and you will feel quite invigorated.


• Get a hula hoop: I had one as a child and I must tell you that the work out I get from it has helped a lot to tone my belly.


• Swimming: this is a great way to get fit without putting any strain on your joints. Try to walk in the water [in the shallow end of course!], the water resistance really works the muscles. Again start easy, work up to a few laps; you could also join water aerobics at your local pool.

Cycling: I only recommend cycling if you already know how to ride a bicycle, even if you rode one a long time ago, you will not have forgotten. Get some friends together; it is more fun that way!

TEN years ago, Melbourne mum Karen Gatt was so obese she could barely leave her own home.
At just 26 years old, with two toddler sons, she had spent most of her life on the diet rollercoaster and had tried and failed with every diet imagineable.

At her heaviest, she weighed 136 kilos and was unable to do the basic activities of day-to-day life. Depressed and contemplating taking her own life, she decided to give weight loss one last go for the sake of her boys.

This time, though, she went right back to basics and devised a simple, no-fuss diet plan and began walking tiny laps of the clothesline in her suburban backyard.

Why the clothesline?

It was all she could manage. She was too large and too embarrassed to walk in public and she was able to hang on to the clothesline when she ran out of breath.

At first it was five laps, then six, and each day she added a minute more.

Thirteen months after she began she halved her body size, shedding 67 kilos without pills or potions and without stepping into the gym once!

Today, Gatt has been lovingly dubbed "Australia's favourite diet mum".

The inspirational story of how she lost her weight, and her simple seven-day diet plan, became an instant bestseller when The Clothesline Diet was first released in 2002 and it has become one of Australia's most successful weight loss books.

Read more about her diet plan by clicking on her picture

Getting older we often forget that health+weight+good digestion go hand in hand.
It is very easy to eat out of habit whether we are hungry or not, sometimes we eat because we are stressed or even bored. The foodstuff we eat then are not always the best or the healthiest, it is so easy to eat a lot of bread or pasta and at first it feels so good, this is just a bad habit that could easily be replaced by a good one.

My rules for good digestion:

Eat only when slightly hungry

Start with a green salad or an apple

Do not eat when upset or angry

Do not eat in a rush

Eat slowly and masticate [chew] your food thoroughly

Try to eat small meals more often

After eating avoid coffee but try a digestive herb tea instead [peppermint]

Listen to your body and avoid foods that upset you, if you cannot avoid them altogether eat less of those

Metabolism is the process by which the body absorbs food and nutrients and converts them into energy. Our metabolism can slow down as we age, but this does not have to be so. By boosting our metabolism we will gain more energy and burn more calories as a result.

Eat a good breakfast

Eat smaller portions more often, instead of 3 big meals have 6 smaller ones.

Get some cardio exercise for at least 10 minutes a day and try to get a good half hour to a full hour's walk.

Drink cool spring water [filtered tap water is OK too]

Take some good quality supplements, make sure you get adequate amounts of minerals and vitamins.

Get protein from fish and nuts as well as eggs, avoid having too much red meat.

Make sure you get enough sleep.

De-stress, learn to. relax your mind

This is it, you are now grown up, the children may already have left home or are just about to go on their own merry way.
Now is the time to learn to relax and de-stress, not with food but by looking after yourself and giving yourself some TLC [Tender Loving Care].
You may find that a lovely bath with some bubbles and essential oils to soothe and calm will do a world of good, and you may not feel so inclined to reach for the chocolate.

Relaxation is also a great way to avoid those power surges, aka: hot flashes.

There are so many ways to achieve a little peace of mind, find the one that suits you. You may prefer a long walk on your own or with the dog, or even a nice swim at your local pool.

Turn off the TV, you may surprise yourself on how stressful watching the news can be, without being aware of it. It i so easy to absorb all the negative images and sounds of an invasive television
.
This is the stage of our life when we want to be confortable with who we are and not try to compete with 20 year old models and actresses in need of a good meal.

Join a group or go to a yoga class aimed at older women, if you cannot find one, then why not start a group, this could be a coffee group or a walking group, the possibilities are endless
.
Above all have fun and relax.
Put your feet up

Having collected and researched and tried just about all the weight loss methods in this lens, I have to admit that there are 2 main things that have worked for me:

eating a sensible diet and
getting enough daily exercise.

My diet is simple enough, I have cut out most white carbs, this means NO bread and if on the rare occasion I have a slice is the solid home made wholegrain variety. I leave out pasta and rice as much as possible, I may have brown rice or wholemeal pasta once a week.
I got so used to not having wheat that I don't miss it in my diet. I still have a small treat once in a while; I enjoy a good coffee and a slice of cake. If the cake is a large piece I only have half!
It is not so much that I am virtuous but I just got used to having very little sugar at the time and have all of my drinks sugar free.
A way for me to avoid sugary snacks is to go food shopping after a meal, this way I am not hungry or tempted and I stick to my shopping list.

For exercise I walk as much as I can and garden. Pushing around a lawn mover is a great workout and so is weeding etc.
I am getting a lot better at walking and do not let bad weather deter me, I walked in Europe during the coldest days in the winter and will make sure I walk here [Australia] in the summer, I just avoid the hottest part of the day and make sure to drink a lot of water.
Swimming is great as well, it avoids undue pressure on your joints if you have any kind of knee or foot problem, even walking in the water is of benefit. I took part in some water aerobics classes at my local gym and loved it.