Gaining weight after 35 becomes common. Many think that metabolism slows down, but in fact, recent studies show that women’s metabolism remains constant from 20 – 60 years of age. This means that our bodies’ ability to burn energy remains relatively stable until the age of 60. 

In fact, hormonal changes do occur, and lifestyle factors may impact our ability to shed pounds effectively. However, with the right strategies and mindset, achieving a healthy weight after 35 is entirely feasible. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you navigate this journey:

Understanding Some Reasons You Are Gaining Weight after 35:

1. Increase in Hunger: As we go through perimenopause (transition to menopause), we begin to have a drop in estrogen, which also brings other hormonal changes that can lead us to an increase in hunger. Ghrelin is produced by the stomach, stimulating hunger. As estrogen decreases, ghrelin increases, so we tend to feel hungrier more frequently.  
2. Intense Cravings: Not only does our physical hunger increase, our desire to eat more chips, sweets and eating more due to stress, boredom, etc., will also increase due to this drop in estrogen. The hormone Neuropeptide Y, an appetite stimulating hormone, also goes up. On the other hand, as we age, we tend to produce less oxytocin, “the love hormone”, which is known to suppress appetite. Rising neuropeptide Y and falling oxytocin, can both lead to more cravings. 
3. Less Movement: There are many reasons why at this age we could tend to move less: extended office hours, family responsibilities, taking care for aging parents, etc. It could be that our bodies are no longer recovering as fast as they used to after a workout, or even aching joints (associated with menopause) making regular movement more difficult. For all these reasons and many more, we could be moving less as we age. This can change our body composition towards less lean mass and more fat mass. 
4. Redistributed Fat: As we age, estradiol and progesterone levels go down. These changes can also make our bodies change. More fat could be accumulated around our midsection and our body shape could seem to change. Even if the scale does not change, we could feel as if we have gained weight. 
5. Poor Sleep: During perimenopause, we may start having sleep disturbances: hot flushes, insomnia, etc. These sleep disturbances can also affect the hormones that regulate appetite. This will most likely mean: more cravings and more trouble feeling full. 

But, no need to worry, you are not alone!

Although all this sounds like a lot, here is the good news: You can take control of these changes and still learn strategies to feel better and lose weight! 

It is important to say, there are no magic wands that work miracles. Strict and restrictive diets are not recommended, as they tend to backfire and are usually not the healthiest approach. Therefore, we will focus in a more sustainable approach focused on teaching you the skills that will help you. Remember: small and steady steps will take you a long way.  

Here are a 6 strategies you can start implementing to start seeing results:

1. Learn the difference between hunger and appetite. Try to analyze if you are very hungry of more likely having a craving. Make an intentional decision. This will help you notice the difference and say no to cravings from time to time. 
2. Eat slowly and mindfully. Try take your time in each meal. 
3. Eat enough and plenty of protein. Your body works harder when you ingest protein than when you ingest carbs or fat. Therefore, it burns more calories. It will also make you feel full for a longer period of time.
4. Stay Hydrated! Make an effort to drink your first glass of water as soon as you wake up and aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
5. Regular Exercise Routine. Prioritize Strength Training: We highly recommend women over 35 to include strength training and weight lifting exercises 2-3 times a week. Alternate with mild cardiovascular training like: walking, swimming, jogging for at least 30-40 mins 2-3 times a week in alternating days. Remember to include your pelvic floor exercises in your weekly routine! Click HERE for an exercise program recommended for this stage! PROACTIVE PERIMENOPAUSE PROGRAM
6. Get Enough Sleep. Aim to sleeping 6-8 hours a day. If you are having trouble with this milestone, try making changes in your nutritional habits (read more on this topic in our next blog post). You can also try breathing exercises to relax like: 4-7-8 method or try this program that promises a fast sleep breathing strategy: BREATHING FOR SLEEP.

Conclusion:

As you can see, aging will bring some changes to our bodies, but there is no need to worry or feel hopeless. If you are gaining weight after 35 years of age, there are plenty simple strategies we can implement every day to reach our own personal goals. Remember that small consistent changes will bring better results in the long run!

For more about Perimenopause Symptoms read more in our posts:

ARE YOU IN PERIMENOPAUSE? ROAD TO MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS

3 COMMON PERIMENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS…

The post 5 Reasons you are gaining weight after 35 appeared first on Age Greatfully.

If you are a woman between 35 and 55 years old, it is very likely you are going through perimenopause (road to menopause). Before you start worrying about getting old and all the changes that are coming your way, not all is bad news. Now is the time to be aware of these changes and start taking action to make these symptoms as light and manageable as possible.

The road to menopause, or perimenopause, can cause plenty of symptoms that you might not even be aware that are caused by these changes in our bodies. Often, they are not even taken seriously by many doctors, minimizing the importance and impact they may have in our daily lives.   

In this post, we will start by describing 3 common symptoms of perimenopause along with tips and actions you can take to prevent and treat them. 

1. Perimenopause Weight Gain/Abdominal Fat:

As we grow older, we may notice that what we used to do, no longer brings the same results. Suddenly, there is this extra love in our bellies that doesn’t seem to go away, no matter how many sit-ups and crunches we do. This new and extra belly fat seems to me stubborn. It turns out that as our bodies begin to change, we start producing less estrogen. This drop results in an increase of body fat, often accumulating in the abdominal region. 

The thing is, our bodies are changing, and so should our efforts to be healthy. This does not mean more hours in the gym or endless cardio routines and sit-ups, or more fad diets and starving seasons. In fact, it is no longer about quantity but more about quality and knowing exactly where to aim our efforts.

As we age, the reduction of estrogen leads to a reduction of muscles, which are key to burning fat. Therefore, the easy math is: WORK ON BUILDING MUSCLE. Working on a muscle building routine, two to three times a week, combined with a not so heavy cardio routine, will make a big difference in your results. Add a high protein diet with lots of fruits and veggies for better and faster results. 

Click HERE for a suggested program to follow, designed especially for women over 35. 

2. Lack of Sleep:

Over half of menopausal women say they have trouble sleeping. When you don’t sleep well, you’re tired, irritable, can’t focus, and may even affect your hunger making you starve all day. Some experts believe that poor sleep is the main challenge of menopause, and that it contributes to most other menopause and perimenopause symptoms (like weight gain). Therefore, it is very important to understand some of the reasons why many women have sleep problems and steps you can try to solve them. 

Here are 5 reasons women have trouble in their sleep:

• Hot Flushes / Night Sweats
• The urge to urinate
• Bloating / Acid Reflux
• Sleep Apnea
• Cravings

Many of these symptoms may get better with some simple health strategies, such as these:

1. Skip caffeine in the afternoon. As a stimulant, caffeine may have an important role in troubled sleep. From not being able to fall asleep to waking up during the night, caffeine could be the one to blame. It’s effect can last up to 12 hours. Try having your coffee during the morning and consciously reduce your intake after noon. If you find it difficult to stop your afternoon intake, try going for decaf options or slowing reducing your daily intake. Give it a try for some days and see how you feel. 
2. Avoid Alcohol before bed. Contrary to many beliefs, alcohol intake could make sleep worse. The classic evening wine may be responsible for suppressing your REM or dreaming sleep. As well as affect your vasomotor regulation, leading to hot flushes. Try avoiding as much as possible alcohol intake before going to bed and take note of how you sleep and feel the next day.
3. Meal timing. Try to create a predictable eating schedule to help your body prepare for food intake and work correctly though the digestive process. Aim to finish your last meal at least 2-3 hours before going to bed. 
4. Breathing Exercises. These exercises may help you relax, reduce stress, and fall asleep as soon as possible. Breathing exercises may also help you fall asleep faster after waking up during the night (because of hot flushes, anxiety, urination urge, etc).

For a suggested routine to learn to FALL ASLEEP FAST, click HERE. 

3. Urinary Incontinence:

This is a symptom that may or may not be related to perimenopause or menopause. Sometimes urinary incontinence may start after giving birth or only due to a weakened pelvic floor. That is why I cannot stress this enough: STRENGTHENING YOUR PELVIC FLOOR IS VERY IMPORTANTE FOR ALL WOMEN, no matter the age.

As was mentioned before, we start losing estrogen during perimenopause. This is a hormone that helps us preserve our muscles. Given this hormonal reduction, our bodies start losing muscle strength. It is of vital importance that we put in a little extra effort in building our muscle mass. Same thing happens to our pelvic floor. Our pelvic floor es full of important muscles that help us, not only sustain our reproductive organs, but is also in charge of controlling our urge to urinate. Therefore, continually working on your pelvic floor is a strategy that will always be recommended for a good and graceful aging process. And the sooner your start, the better (no matter the age).

For a workout program designed for PELVIC STRENGTH, click HERE!    

In Conclusion, you are in perimenopause…

In this post, I mentioned only three common perimenopause symptoms, but there are plenty more that we will continue to cover in future posts. Our main goal is to help women going through this important process and to be able to go through it in the most simple and natural ways as possible. Most of the times, small changes can lead to great results. 

Please let us know in the comments, if there are any topics that you would like to be covered in future posts. Remember we are in this together.

Visit our STORE to find more of our recommended products. 

The post 3 Common Perimenopause Symptoms… appeared first on Age Greatfully.

I would like to start this blog post by defining perimenopause and how it’s different to menopause. It is important for us to know the difference since perimenopause can last many years and symptoms may be vary from person to person and from time to time. Therefore, let’s begin:

Perimenopause means “around menopause” and refers to the time in which your body will start to change to transition to menopause. This means that perimenopause is pretty much the “road to menopause”. Perimenopause can start as early as your mid 30s or as late as your mid 50s. For most women, this process will last from four to eight years, but every woman’s journey is different. 

Once you’ve had 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, you are officially in menopause!

Here is a list of perimenopause symptoms that are important to identify to start taking action on our well-being: 

Reproductive:

• Irregular Periods
• Heavier/Lighter Periods
• Worse PMS
• Low Libido
• Vaginal Dryness

Metabolic:

• Weight Gain
• Abdominal Fat
• Muscle Loss

Vasomotor:

• Hot Flashes
• Night Sweats

Skin/Hair/Nails:

• Dry Itchy Skin
• Brittle Nails
• Thinning Hair
• Facial Hair

Genitourinary:

• UTI’S
• Incontinence

Musculoskeletal:

• Muscle/Joint Pain
• Bone Density Loss
• Muscle Tension
• Pins and Needles

Somatic:

• Headaches
• Migraine
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Body Aches

Cognitive:

• Brain Fog
• Memory Problems
• Lack of Focus

Sleep:

• Insomnia
• Sleep Problems
• Nighttime/Early Waking

This may sound a little scary, which I must admit, it really is! But understanding the changes our bodies are going through during perimenopause is crucial to have a better process. Knowing and understanding the different alternatives, programs, methods and treatments available for us, will give us the advantage of treating our bodies as it is intended and needed.  I believe we can thrive through this process and give ourselves the gift of taking good care of ourselves. 

To finish this post, below I leave you a list of programs and products you can try if you are suffering from some of these symptoms:

PROACTIVE PERIMENOPAUSE: a great exercise program made specifically for women going through perimenopause. Click HERE to start NOW!

PELIVIC FLOOR PROGRAM: a great, relaxing and self-care exercise program to strengthen your pelvic floor, your core, prevent and treat incontinence and leaking and regain balance. Click HERE to start NOW!

PURAVIVE: Natural supplement to lose weight. Click HERE to go to website!

BREATHING FOR SLEEP: a program thar promises to get you to sleep in 5 minutes! Click HERE to start sleeping well!

JOINT GENESIS: natural supplement for joint pain. Click HERE to go to website!

Visit our STORE to check out our recommended products and let us know your reviews!

Give us your feedback about our recommended products, as we aim to always recommend the best products for the health, fitness, and well-being of all women. 

Always consult your physician or healthcare provider before taking any supplement or starting a new program. 

The owner of https://agegreatfully.com may receive compensation for recommendations made in reference to the products or services on this website. This will not affect the price for you. 

The post Are you in Perimenopause? Road to menopause symptoms appeared first on Age Greatfully.

Hello, dear readers! Today, let’s embark on a journey through the intricate landscapes of women’s health – specifically, the phases known as perimenopause vs menopause. These terms might sound a bit complex, but fear not! We’re here to unravel the mysteries and explore the unique characteristics that define each stage of this transformative process.

Defining Perimenopause:

Picture this: your body as a garden going through the changing seasons. Perimenopause is like the gradual transition from summer to fall, a time when things start to shift but haven’t quite settled into winter. This phase typically kicks in during the late 30s or early 40s, but, of course, each woman has her own timing.

During perimenopause, the body undergoes preparatory changes for the grand event – menopause. Hormones fluctuate, and you may notice symptoms like irregular periods, mood swings, and perhaps the occasional hot flash. Think of perimenopause as the prelude, a period of adjustment before the next chapter unfolds.

Common Features of Perimenopause:

1. Irregular Menstrual Cycles: Periods may become unpredictable, either shorter or longer, as the body adjusts.

2. Mood Swings: Hormonal changes can bring about emotional ups and downs.

3. Hot Flashes: Some women may experience sudden warmth and flushing.

Understanding Menopause:

Now, let’s transition to menopause, the winter season in our analogy. This is the time when the menstrual cycle officially takes a bow, and your body adjusts to a new normal. Menopause usually occurs around the age of 50, but as always, individual experiences may vary.

Menopause signals the end of the reproductive stage. During this time, the ovaries produce fewer hormones, leading to changes in the body. Menstruation stops, and symptoms like hot flashes and changes in sleep patterns might continue. It’s like the garden settling into a serene winter landscape after the vibrant colors of fall.

Common Features of Menopause:

1. Cessation of Menstruation: Periods stop, marking the end of the reproductive years.

2. Hot Flashes Continue: Some women may still experience hot flashes, although they often decrease in intensity over time.

3. Sleep Changes: Shifts in sleep patterns may occur, impacting the quality of rest.

Summing It Up:

In essence, perimenopause is the transitional journey, akin to the changing leaves of fall, while menopause is the serene winter that follows. Both phases are natural parts of a woman’s life, each bringing its own set of adjustments and transformations.

So, the next time you hear about perimenopause vs menopause, think of them as the distinctive seasons in the garden of life, each contributing to the beauty and uniqueness of the journey. Embrace the changes, and remember, it’s all a part of the extraordinary tapestry of being a woman.

The post Understanding the Seasons of Change: Perimenopause vs. Menopause appeared first on Age Greatfully.