Help I’ve got a muffin-top
Which is something I hear all the time from my female clients and guests at my hormone talks
You know what I’m talking about. The ’blubber’ that topples out over your waistband, looking very much like the muffin your bought at the bakers.
Mmmm – looks good on the muffin, but not on your waistline, which you persistently try to hide under your blouse.
Where does all the surplus ’dough’ come from?
Muffin-top is a special type of fat, it’s more ’fluffy’ than the fat that is stored when you’re overweight which seems to be much firmer.
Women who are not in any way over weight, even those with lower fat percentage, suffer muffin-tops. So, question is why do we get a muffin-top?
The short answer is: Hormonal changes during perimenopause, which already start in the 40’s.
- Low Estrogen and high Cortisol aka stress and inflammation
- Low Estrogen and insulin resistance which make us more carbohydrate sensitive
- Low Estrogen and low Serotonin, which changes the gut microbiome (and our mood).
How you reduce your muffin-top
Please note I write ‘reduce’. Muffin-top is unfortunately a ‘normal’ product of peri-menopause, which most women take with them into ’the golden years’ when menopause is over.
How big it is, depends on the lifestyle habits you encounter on a daily basis.
- De-stress – physically, mentally and emotionally, especially emotionally. Accept that you are not the same woman as before and never will be, but that doesn’t have to be negative. Your needs, interests and energy levels will change – go with the flow and embrace the new version of you. Don’t try to desperately hold on to the ’old’ you it’s stressful and will with guarantee increase your muffin-top.
- Follow an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle
- Reduce starches and sugars – max. 30-40 gm per meal
- Follow intermittent fasting principles, such as 10 hour-eating windows e.g. eat only between 8am and 6pm minimum twice a week
- Water fasting one to two days in a week and/or a weekend a month
- Train H:I:T (High Intensity Training) max 40 minutes and minimum twice a week
- In bed latest 10pm
- Support your microbiome and test your gut health. See the links opposite.
- Take fish oils as a supplement. Pure Artic or Pure Vegan Oil from Eqology. See the links opposite.
