Is Your Belly Fat Really Because Of Your Age?

As I sat with the nutritionist that Alvin Ailey dance school had sent me to….

She started asking me about my mother, a petite Chinese woman who was teaching dance at Ailey.

“Tell me your mother’s secret! I want to know how she manages to keep her belly so lean. I mean, I don’t have any weight to lose, but no matter what I do, I just can’t get this belly fat off my waist. It’s been a problem since I hit 50, and I don’t know how your mother does it!”

I sat there dumbfounded.

It never occurred to me that my mother would have some secret recipe for flat abs, and I couldn’t understand why this “expert” was asking me about it!

The conversation left me thinking about how some women struggle with belly fat after 50, and I wondered if I would end up like my slender mom or my Jewish grandmother, who was ALWAYS on a diet.

I didn’t really start thinking about it again until I hit my mid-40s. Many of the women attracted to working with me were now struggling with the same complaint the nutritionist had voiced, and like her, they wanted to know “my secret.”  

Time and time again, as they first entered our program, I’d hear them express a similar complaint that no matter what, they couldn’t seem to drop their belly fat. They wondered if they should give up trying now that they were such and such age.  

The good news is that they’ve all been able to break that plateau in just a few short months. The tough news is age can get in the way if you ignore it.

This is because once you hit a certain age (or hormonal phase), you simply can’t expect the things that used to work to still work for you.

That said, what used to work no longer works does NOT mean that NOTHING will work. It simply means you need to honor where you are today!

I mean, let’s face it…

Not only will your body work differently as your hormones shift and change, but life will also be different. You can no longer take your body’s youthful health for granted, and you can no longer ignore places you’ve been neglecting.

Yet before you get your hormones tested, buy expensive supplements or go on bio-identical hormone therapy…

Let’s ensure you take care of the foundational factors contributing to hormonal and metabolic balance.

Chronic Stress

Whether it’s from your job, relationship, kids, or simply feeling empty/lonely… stress—especially stress that feels like it’s taking you nowhere or that leads to resentment and anxiety… —pools in your body, leaving you with elevated cortisol levels and… the dreaded muffin top.

To deal with this:

1. Commit to 5 to 10-minute breaks.
2. Take one of these breaks every hour.
3. Get up and away from technology.
4. Go outside and gaze at the sky. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Do a few mindful sun salutations.

Incorporating these habits will bring you out of the chaotic brain state and into a calm state.

When you reach that calm state, your body undergoes a host of changes, including a rebalance of your hormones. The goal is to live more in this state than in the stress state.

Inactivity

I know, I know… if you can get this one more thing done, you can go workout, right? But then, more often than not, when you show up to workout, your motivation is now gone because you’re exhausted from life. So you procrastinate for yet another day, week, month, etc.

Instead, prioritize your workouts over the many other things you need to do. Make training a non-negotiable.

I promise, this one thing along will change all the other weaknesses in your life!

Poor sleep

For whatever reason, you can no longer get through the night without getting woken up by your bladder.

Maybe it’s from the extra tea you had after dinner, the weakened pelvic floor you have from procrastinating your workouts, or that stress making it feel impossible to wind down. This, in turn, knocks off your hormonal balance, and here you are again, tired but wired at 2 am.

Getting better sleep is tied to your actions throughout the day, but let’s start with the basics:

1. Get exposure to sunlight for 5 to 15 minutes every morning (before looking at screens).
2. Stop eating after 7 pm.
3. Avoid caffeine post 12 pm.
4. Avoid tea after 3 or 4 pm.

Eat Enough Protein

Most women are okay getting in their veggies, but they fall short when it comes to nutrient timing, especially as it relates to protein.

So, stop snacking (or eating snacky foods in place of meals) and focus on eating three main meals daily.

In each meal (including the first meal of your day), eat at least 25 to 30 grams of protein, 1-2 servings of veggies (cooked or raw, depending on your gut health), and 1-2 servings of fat.

Want to speed up your belly fat loss, make it permanent, and get out of pain simultaneously? I’ve got what it takes to get you there! No guesswork, no fad diets, and no overtraining.

Book a quick call today to learn more about my fitness and fat loss programs that will quickly change your life.