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Here’s the thing, as women age it becomes harder to maintain a balanced hormonal system and a trim physique. That’s a scientific fact. But, there are ways to navigate these changes happening biologically. They can’t be stopped, but they certainly can be managed so that any woman in her mid-30s and beyond, in perimenopause or any stage of menopause can get a lean, toned physique and the energy, sleep quality and overall health and wellness she deserves.
“It’s like opposite day,” says Amanda Tress, CEO and founder of FASTer Way to Fat Loss. “We’re going to tell you to eat more and do less, which is the exact opposite of what your doctor is probably saying.” FASTer Way has helped over 450,000 clients achieve body transformations that are life changing by using science backed strategies such as intermittent fasting, carb cycling, quick and efficient workouts and strategically paired nutrition and exercise.
What NOT to do #1: Do NOT cut carbs.
“When I first went to the physician to talk about my symptoms, the first thing she said was to cut calories and eat less carbs,” says Michelle H. “But it still didn’t work.”
Tress hears that same story from thousands of women and says she’s not surprised they’re not seeing results. What you eat is important, but you don’t have to go hungry. In fact, that may be sabotaging your success. A whole food meal plan with proteins, fats and carbs, yes, we said carbs, is essential whether you’re in your 20s, 30s or beyond.
Protein is having its moment in the sun right now. Everywhere you turn someone’s telling you to eat more protein. That’s because it helps your body build muscle, and muscle burns fat. The one thing you can do to burn fat without exercising is simply eat more protein.
It’s how you eat those foods, and when, that makes a difference. “Carb cycling is an intentional variation of carb intake,” says Tress. “We believe in carbs for energy, thyroid function, and happiness in your brain!”
If you cut carbs, yeah you’ll lose weight, but you’ll have no energy. And you’re already lacking energy because of hormone fluctuations. And if you don’t have energy you won’t want to get out of bed to exercise. And if you don’t exercise you won’t burn fat. It’s a vicious cycle! And carbs, quite frankly, are the solution not the problem.
You need carbs for your hormones. You need this soup of electrical energy for vitamins and nutrients and to truly thrive and enjoy this stage of life.
What NOT to do #2: Do NOT increase cardio.
Another popular option for women who want to lose belly fat is to ramp up cardio. But hours in the gym and two-a-day trainings are only going to add stress to your body and spike your cortisol hormone, which can be partly to blame in the first place. Running every day and hitting the gym for endless treadmill or elliptical workouts is making things worse, not better.
No, if you really want to fight the fat, you need to exercise LESS. You heard it here first: permission to skip the gym at least a day or two. You’ll also want to ditch the cardio only approach. Muscle is really where it’s at when it comes to burning fat.
FASTer Way clients enjoy two days of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and three days of strength training with two active recovery days. What really makes that plan work, though, is the strategically paired meal plan that correlates to the type of workout you need to complete. When you eat the right things at the right time, it makes a difference. On a HIIT workout day, for example, you reduce your carbohydrate intake so that your body goes into its fat stores for energy. See how that works? Eat carbs, your body uses carbs. Reduce carbs, your body looks elsewhere.
What NOT to do #3: Do NOT eat breakfast.
You’ve heard for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, is it? Tress is a big supporter of intermittent fasting and it is a cornerstone of her program. She was implementing fasting before it was trendy.
For women experiencing menopause symptoms, well meaning physicians and medical experts often want to make sure they’re eating breakfast, or snacking every two hours to “keep their metabolism going,” but here’s the deal, insulin is another hormone that can be out of whack at this stage of life, and every time you eat, you spike your insulin. Every time your insulin spikes, fat cells rejoice. Allowing your body to have digestive rest isn’t putting more stress on it, especially if you’re eating a whole food diet rich in macronutrients and micronutrients, what fasting does is keep your insulin lower for longer.
Functional health practitioner Alex D’Oliveira says, “The problem is, by the time you have belly fat, (or even a diabetes diagnosis), you've been running high insulin for 5-10 years.” That insulin has to go somewhere, and if you’re making so much it can’t be stored in your liver, it gets stored where? You guessed it, your fat cells.
Here’s another problem, the more insulin you have the more insulin resistant you’re going to become which now means you have so much insulin you’re constantly hungry, constantly have cravings and constantly keep reaching for refined carbs or sugar which is making the situation worse.
So what DO you do?
If you haven’t realized by now, aging is like a ballroom dance you do with your body and hormones are leading the steps across the dance floor. Lean in to the hormones, understand them, work with them not against them. Get good sleep. Take walks. Enjoy rest. And don’t keep doing what isn’t working. Don’t deprive yourself of foods you enjoy; don’t spend more time working out than investing in quality time with friends and family; don’t buy into the standard protocols built for a general audience.
DO listen to your body. DO invest in a virtual fitness subscription like the FASTer Way that gives you a clinically proven app, complete support from trainers, a personal coach, a done-for-you meal plan, and daily new workouts you don’t have to think about. DO find friends to enjoy life with and enjoy the dance with you.
Embrace progress over perfection and stay consistent, not perfect, but consistent, and you will see changes over time. For more about the FASTer Way and to join the next 6-week New Client Program, click here.
Subscribe to our blog
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique.
Here’s the thing, as women age it becomes harder to maintain a balanced hormonal system and a trim physique. That’s a scientific fact. But, there are ways to navigate these changes happening biologically. They can’t be stopped, but they certainly can be managed so that any woman in her mid-30s and beyond, in perimenopause or any stage of menopause can get a lean, toned physique and the energy, sleep quality and overall health and wellness she deserves.
“It’s like opposite day,” says Amanda Tress, CEO and founder of FASTer Way to Fat Loss. “We’re going to tell you to eat more and do less, which is the exact opposite of what your doctor is probably saying.” FASTer Way has helped over 450,000 clients achieve body transformations that are life changing by using science backed strategies such as intermittent fasting, carb cycling, quick and efficient workouts and strategically paired nutrition and exercise.
What NOT to do #1: Do NOT cut carbs.
“When I first went to the physician to talk about my symptoms, the first thing she said was to cut calories and eat less carbs,” says Michelle H. “But it still didn’t work.”
Tress hears that same story from thousands of women and says she’s not surprised they’re not seeing results. What you eat is important, but you don’t have to go hungry. In fact, that may be sabotaging your success. A whole food meal plan with proteins, fats and carbs, yes, we said carbs, is essential whether you’re in your 20s, 30s or beyond.
Protein is having its moment in the sun right now. Everywhere you turn someone’s telling you to eat more protein. That’s because it helps your body build muscle, and muscle burns fat. The one thing you can do to burn fat without exercising is simply eat more protein.
It’s how you eat those foods, and when, that makes a difference. “Carb cycling is an intentional variation of carb intake,” says Tress. “We believe in carbs for energy, thyroid function, and happiness in your brain!”
If you cut carbs, yeah you’ll lose weight, but you’ll have no energy. And you’re already lacking energy because of hormone fluctuations. And if you don’t have energy you won’t want to get out of bed to exercise. And if you don’t exercise you won’t burn fat. It’s a vicious cycle! And carbs, quite frankly, are the solution not the problem.
You need carbs for your hormones. You need this soup of electrical energy for vitamins and nutrients and to truly thrive and enjoy this stage of life.
What NOT to do #2: Do NOT increase cardio.
Another popular option for women who want to lose belly fat is to ramp up cardio. But hours in the gym and two-a-day trainings are only going to add stress to your body and spike your cortisol hormone, which can be partly to blame in the first place. Running every day and hitting the gym for endless treadmill or elliptical workouts is making things worse, not better.
No, if you really want to fight the fat, you need to exercise LESS. You heard it here first: permission to skip the gym at least a day or two. You’ll also want to ditch the cardio only approach. Muscle is really where it’s at when it comes to burning fat.
FASTer Way clients enjoy two days of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and three days of strength training with two active recovery days. What really makes that plan work, though, is the strategically paired meal plan that correlates to the type of workout you need to complete. When you eat the right things at the right time, it makes a difference. On a HIIT workout day, for example, you reduce your carbohydrate intake so that your body goes into its fat stores for energy. See how that works? Eat carbs, your body uses carbs. Reduce carbs, your body looks elsewhere.
What NOT to do #3: Do NOT eat breakfast.
You’ve heard for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, is it? Tress is a big supporter of intermittent fasting and it is a cornerstone of her program. She was implementing fasting before it was trendy.
For women experiencing menopause symptoms, well meaning physicians and medical experts often want to make sure they’re eating breakfast, or snacking every two hours to “keep their metabolism going,” but here’s the deal, insulin is another hormone that can be out of whack at this stage of life, and every time you eat, you spike your insulin. Every time your insulin spikes, fat cells rejoice. Allowing your body to have digestive rest isn’t putting more stress on it, especially if you’re eating a whole food diet rich in macronutrients and micronutrients, what fasting does is keep your insulin lower for longer.
Functional health practitioner Alex D’Oliveira says, “The problem is, by the time you have belly fat, (or even a diabetes diagnosis), you've been running high insulin for 5-10 years.” That insulin has to go somewhere, and if you’re making so much it can’t be stored in your liver, it gets stored where? You guessed it, your fat cells.
Here’s another problem, the more insulin you have the more insulin resistant you’re going to become which now means you have so much insulin you’re constantly hungry, constantly have cravings and constantly keep reaching for refined carbs or sugar which is making the situation worse.
So what DO you do?
If you haven’t realized by now, aging is like a ballroom dance you do with your body and hormones are leading the steps across the dance floor. Lean in to the hormones, understand them, work with them not against them. Get good sleep. Take walks. Enjoy rest. And don’t keep doing what isn’t working. Don’t deprive yourself of foods you enjoy; don’t spend more time working out than investing in quality time with friends and family; don’t buy into the standard protocols built for a general audience.
DO listen to your body. DO invest in a virtual fitness subscription like the FASTer Way that gives you a clinically proven app, complete support from trainers, a personal coach, a done-for-you meal plan, and daily new workouts you don’t have to think about. DO find friends to enjoy life with and enjoy the dance with you.
Embrace progress over perfection and stay consistent, not perfect, but consistent, and you will see changes over time. For more about the FASTer Way and to join the next 6-week New Client Program, click here.
Subscribe to our blog
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique.
What NOT To Do If You Want To Lose Fat in Your 30s and Beyond (FREE Meal Guide!)
Here’s the thing, as women age it becomes harder to maintain a balanced hormonal system and a trim physique. That’s a scientific fact. But, there are ways to navigate these changes happening biologically. They can’t be stopped, but they certainly can be managed so that any woman in her mid-30s and beyond, in perimenopause or any stage of menopause can get a lean, toned physique and the energy, sleep quality and overall health and wellness she deserves.
“It’s like opposite day,” says Amanda Tress, CEO and founder of FASTer Way to Fat Loss. “We’re going to tell you to eat more and do less, which is the exact opposite of what your doctor is probably saying.” FASTer Way has helped over 450,000 clients achieve body transformations that are life changing by using science backed strategies such as intermittent fasting, carb cycling, quick and efficient workouts and strategically paired nutrition and exercise.
What NOT to do #1: Do NOT cut carbs.
“When I first went to the physician to talk about my symptoms, the first thing she said was to cut calories and eat less carbs,” says Michelle H. “But it still didn’t work.”
Tress hears that same story from thousands of women and says she’s not surprised they’re not seeing results. What you eat is important, but you don’t have to go hungry. In fact, that may be sabotaging your success. A whole food meal plan with proteins, fats and carbs, yes, we said carbs, is essential whether you’re in your 20s, 30s or beyond.
Protein is having its moment in the sun right now. Everywhere you turn someone’s telling you to eat more protein. That’s because it helps your body build muscle, and muscle burns fat. The one thing you can do to burn fat without exercising is simply eat more protein.
It’s how you eat those foods, and when, that makes a difference. “Carb cycling is an intentional variation of carb intake,” says Tress. “We believe in carbs for energy, thyroid function, and happiness in your brain!”
If you cut carbs, yeah you’ll lose weight, but you’ll have no energy. And you’re already lacking energy because of hormone fluctuations. And if you don’t have energy you won’t want to get out of bed to exercise. And if you don’t exercise you won’t burn fat. It’s a vicious cycle! And carbs, quite frankly, are the solution not the problem.
You need carbs for your hormones. You need this soup of electrical energy for vitamins and nutrients and to truly thrive and enjoy this stage of life.
What NOT to do #2: Do NOT increase cardio.
Another popular option for women who want to lose belly fat is to ramp up cardio. But hours in the gym and two-a-day trainings are only going to add stress to your body and spike your cortisol hormone, which can be partly to blame in the first place. Running every day and hitting the gym for endless treadmill or elliptical workouts is making things worse, not better.
No, if you really want to fight the fat, you need to exercise LESS. You heard it here first: permission to skip the gym at least a day or two. You’ll also want to ditch the cardio only approach. Muscle is really where it’s at when it comes to burning fat.
FASTer Way clients enjoy two days of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and three days of strength training with two active recovery days. What really makes that plan work, though, is the strategically paired meal plan that correlates to the type of workout you need to complete. When you eat the right things at the right time, it makes a difference. On a HIIT workout day, for example, you reduce your carbohydrate intake so that your body goes into its fat stores for energy. See how that works? Eat carbs, your body uses carbs. Reduce carbs, your body looks elsewhere.
What NOT to do #3: Do NOT eat breakfast.
You’ve heard for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, is it? Tress is a big supporter of intermittent fasting and it is a cornerstone of her program. She was implementing fasting before it was trendy.
For women experiencing menopause symptoms, well meaning physicians and medical experts often want to make sure they’re eating breakfast, or snacking every two hours to “keep their metabolism going,” but here’s the deal, insulin is another hormone that can be out of whack at this stage of life, and every time you eat, you spike your insulin. Every time your insulin spikes, fat cells rejoice. Allowing your body to have digestive rest isn’t putting more stress on it, especially if you’re eating a whole food diet rich in macronutrients and micronutrients, what fasting does is keep your insulin lower for longer.
Functional health practitioner Alex D’Oliveira says, “The problem is, by the time you have belly fat, (or even a diabetes diagnosis), you've been running high insulin for 5-10 years.” That insulin has to go somewhere, and if you’re making so much it can’t be stored in your liver, it gets stored where? You guessed it, your fat cells.
Here’s another problem, the more insulin you have the more insulin resistant you’re going to become which now means you have so much insulin you’re constantly hungry, constantly have cravings and constantly keep reaching for refined carbs or sugar which is making the situation worse.
So what DO you do?
If you haven’t realized by now, aging is like a ballroom dance you do with your body and hormones are leading the steps across the dance floor. Lean in to the hormones, understand them, work with them not against them. Get good sleep. Take walks. Enjoy rest. And don’t keep doing what isn’t working. Don’t deprive yourself of foods you enjoy; don’t spend more time working out than investing in quality time with friends and family; don’t buy into the standard protocols built for a general audience.
DO listen to your body. DO invest in a virtual fitness subscription like the FASTer Way that gives you a clinically proven app, complete support from trainers, a personal coach, a done-for-you meal plan, and daily new workouts you don’t have to think about. DO find friends to enjoy life with and enjoy the dance with you.
Embrace progress over perfection and stay consistent, not perfect, but consistent, and you will see changes over time. For more about the FASTer Way and to join the next 6-week New Client Program, click here.
