Menopause Weight – What is it Really Saying?

Posted by 360admin | Posted on 03-12-2011

Category : Weight

Tags: , , ,

Message in a Bottle – Weight Gain
Expert’s Name:  Suzanne Monroe

 

Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

Have you ever asked ‘why can’t I lose weight and keep it off for good’? When you see weight as the enemy, it keeps hanging around. Whether you want to lose 10 lbs or 110 lbs, the core of the issue is the same: your body is sending you a message much deeper than, “Hey fatty, get to the gym”.

Most diseases and chronic ailments we experience are messages to us about how we have lived our life up until this point. We can try to cover them up, treating just the symptom, or we can ask ourselves a new question: What is this here to teach me about myself? Weight is no different – it’s a condition your body has presented to you so that you can grow. The body is always communicating with us, each and every day it is telling us what it needs. If only we were listening.

A New Perspective on Weight Gain

Consider that weight gain is actually a message your body is sending you. And if you try to control it by depriving yourself, using willpower or restricting yourself, you are only tightening the situation. What is needed is expansion – a new look, an open perspective, a new door to open for learning and growth.

If you weight is a message to you, then what is the message? It’s different for every person.

Some examples of messages that come in the form of extra pounds are:

I need to slow down
I need to love myself
I need more balance
I need nourishment

I need to change my old belief system that isn’t serving me any more

 

I need to honor myself
I want to feel good
I want to have more energy
I want to be happy.

Can’t I just lose the weight first before I have to look at all of these other sticky issues?, you’re wondering. Most people go about it this way. And they often lose weight, but most times it returns. In fact, most diets fail. Ninety-five percent of people on a diet gain back all the weight they lost within 1- 2 years, or sometimes they gain back even more. The reason is, they didn’t learn the lesson of why the extra weight was there to begin with.

If you are looking for long term health and balance, you will have to take a deeper look. Any one can figure out how to burn calories with a Google search or a pass by the diet book section in Amazon. Losing weight is not just about calories in, calories out. Shedding extra pounds is not just about counting points and calculating fat grams, if it were, we’d all be supermodels.

Perimenopause and menopause are not strictly physical events, but they are also an opportunity for personal growth and empowerment. Understanding the “why” behind the physical changes taking place can help you get to a place and physical and emotional health. The real secret is the message your body wants you to know so you can begin to live your very best life. And uncovering that secret is an amazing journey that will create not only long term weight loss, but lasting balance and a renewed sense of self.

Share

Weight Loss Help: Starts with Attitude

Posted by 360admin | Posted on 09-11-2011

Category : Weight

Tags: , , ,

Weight Management Help
Expert’s Name:  Stephanie Ackerman

I Yelled at the Scale and it Roared Back

The day I turned 41, I gained 20 lbs. I got up and like each morning I stepped on the scale. I know you are not supposed to weigh yourself every day, but what’s a compulsive gal supposed to do? Weighing myself kept me grounded and gave me accountability. I am not afraid of the scale; it had been my buddy for the past few years. My scale had been my tried and true friend. It offered me stability.

Could my friend be right? Twenty pounds!! The day before, I was up 5 lbs and the week before 5 lbs. I blamed the gain on my increased exercise and water intake. I was building muscle, it weighs more, right. BUT, 10 lbs. in one day? My scale had failed me.     So what does a gal do when faced with such numbers? I got dressed and drove to Target to buy a new scale!   I stared at all the scales on the shelf, waiting for one to speak to me, to show me the love. Which one would show my true weight? Which one would save me?

I didn’t just buy any scale. I bought the one where it could tell me my weight, my body fat content, even my water weight. This scale could do everything, I thought on my drive home. If only it could wash windows! I figured I would learn that my old scale was off, so I jumped on the scale and the numbers were the same. It must be the water weight. No, that function was not helping my case either. My battle with scale had begun.

Each day, I would step on as gingerly as I could and hope that the numbers would go down. I was eating the same way I had always been. I was exercising like I always did; in fact I was probably exercising more. What was happening? I had always had a skinny waist, big hips yes, but my waist was perfect. What’s that roll there now? Where did that come from? It wasn’t there yesterday.

The Truce

I replaced my original scale. I gave it up for a better model and still I wasn’t seeing what I wanted. I wanted to throw it out the window, but then I would have a broken scale and have to buy a new one again. I made a deal with the new scale. I wasn’t going to weigh myself for a week. “There Mr. Scale, let’s see if you feel lonely without me. I am going to punish you, since you are punishing me.”

 

So I waited a week. I ate and exercised like always. I was feeling great. It was spring; I was outside walking and working in the yard, and I just knew that my scale would miss me and honor me when I returned. The moment of truth. I bargained with the scale. “If I get on the scale, and I lost weight, I will love you forever. If I lost weight, I will never insult you again. If I lost weight, I will never doubt you again.” What if I gained? It couldn’t happen. I had been really prefect this week.

I sat there in the middle of my bathroom floor bargaining and then it hit me, I am bargaining with a scale. I was telling the scale I would love it forever; I would never insult it; I would never doubt it? I was making this solemn promise, this truce, with a rectangular piece of plastic, glass, and metal. I finally saw the absurdity of the whole situation.

I was the one who deserved the love. I shouldn’t insult myself. Why did I doubt myself? Why did my self-image, happiness, and my self-love depend on the number on the scale?   I had heard that I was at the age when women gain weight and that now I had to work harder to maintain and lose weight. This was supposed to be a normal stage in my life. I made a truce that day with myself and the scale.   I promised to try and be a little more accepting of the numbers I see, and to love myself and my curvier body.

It‘s been five years since that day on the bathroom floor, and I still weigh myself almost every morning. What can YOU do in your battle with the scale? Here are some things that have helped me make peace with my scale:

· I tape an inspirational note on the wall in front of my scale

· I seek support from my family

· Upon awakening, I think a happy thought

· I look in the mirror and think of the wonderful things my body allows me to do

· I continue to eat whole organic foods and exercise regularly

I admit it, sometimes when I am feeling really obsessive I will weigh myself in the evening. I know better, you never weigh yourself in the evening, but sometimes I do this and poke fun at myself. I will probably always, like many women, battle the scale, but at this point I am choosing to do so quietly, with dignity, and with self-love.

Share

5 Tips for Ultimate Weight Loss

Posted by 360admin | Posted on 06-10-2011

Category : Weight

Tags: , , , ,

Women and Weight Gain – Try these to Lose Weight Fast
Expert’s Name:  Rachel Clark

 

Multitasking and Eating

There is so much more to being healthy then simply what you eat. Sometimes, taking a moment to slow down and focus on “how” you eat can actually begin to make a difference in how you feel and possibly even in your weight. Healthy digestion begins in the mouth where the digestive enzymes in your saliva start to break down the food you are eating. When food is easier to digest, your body doesn’t have to work so hard on breaking down the food, and can focus instead on assimilating all those quality vitamins and nutrients you just ate. In order for this process to happen, you have to actually chew your food. Sounds simple right? Unfortunately in the fast paced, rush everywhere, do a million things at once kind of world we live in, most of us are lucky if we are able to scarf down a sandwich, while sending an email, talking on the phone, “tweeting” and saving the world all at the same time. The experience of eating has changed and it’s time we stop swallowing our food whole and take back the joys of eating. Ladies and Gentleman let me reacquaint you with chewing and mindful eating.

Chew More Weigh Less

Eating mindlessly can lead to overeating, which leads to weight gain. When you are trying to accomplish a handful of things all at the same time, including eating, it takes your brain longer to connect with your stomach to register that it has eaten and just may be full. Chewing reduces digestive distress and improves assimilation, allowing our bodies to absorb maximum nutrition from each bite of food. It also allows you to actually taste your food, leaving you and your brain more satisfied, and not looking for that extra something right after a meal. When you slow down and take the time to enjoy the eating experience with all your senses, you just may find you eat less and in the long run, may weigh less as well.

 

Get Reacquainted with the Joys of Eating

 

1) Get Unplugged: Turn off the TV, put down that blackberry, tell the twitter verse goodbye for an hour and just focus on the meal you are about to have. I know it’s quiet; I promise you will get used to it.

2) Play with your Food: When was the last time you smelled your food or really noticed the texture? Does the plate look inviting? Does just looking at it make you mouth water. Wake up those senses!

3) Loose the Race: Do you usually shovel the food in? Do you breathe in between bites? Are you panting and sweating when you reach the finish line? Be the last one finished for once. Try putting the fork down in between bites; being sure you are breathing and savoring the food.

4) Chew: How many times do you typically chew a bite of food? No really, go ahead and count. Most of us are lucky if we chew 5 or 10 times depending on the size of the bite. Now try to chew 30-50 times. Notice how the consistency of the food changes, the flavors of the food changes, and notice how much longer it is taking you to finish a meal, leaving less time for a second helping.

5) Find the Joy: Taking time with a meal allows for enjoyment of the whole experience of eating: the smells, flavors and textures. Eating is something we will do, every day for the rest of our lives, why not slow down and enjoy it.

Weight loss is one of the number one complaints of women approaching or going through menopause. Whether you are approaching it, in it or over it, it is never too late to stop multitasking while you are eating. Give your body a chance to do what it is thee to do for you; digest your food easily and send the nutrients to the parts that need them. Stop getting in the way of that process and your body will thank you with things like more energy, less cravings and it may even let you drop a few pounds.

Share
Previous