Mastering Midlife Metabolism: The Key to Fat Loss After 45

If I had the key to fat loss after 45… and I could get every woman to use it, we could change history.

Struggling with weight gain during menopause? You're not alone. Tune in to learn about the unique challenges and effective strategies for fat loss specifically tailored for women over 45. We're unpacking how to adapt your exercise routines to fuel fat loss and boost your metabolism in midlife.

In this episode of Flipping 50, we explore the intricacies of fat loss during menopause, focusing on how changes in hormones affect your body and what you can do to rev up your metabolism. Discover exercise strategies and lifestyle tweaks that are effective for women navigating the shifts that come with menopause.

Questions We Answer In This Episode:

1. How does menopause impact metabolism and weight? [00:03:15]

2. What types of exercise help with fat loss in menopausal women? [00:05:15]

3. Can exercise influence appetite and food cravings during menopause? [00:05:45]

4. What role does sleep play in weight management during menopause? [00:03:55]

5. How can stress affect your weight during menopause, and what can you do about it? [00:13:05]

6. What are practical tips for integrating effective fat loss workouts into a busy schedule? [00:18:05]

In a study titled "The Effects of Exercise Training on Body Composition in Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" provides a thorough analysis of how different forms of exercise influence body composition, particularly fat mass, in postmenopausal women. The research synthesizes results from various studies to conclude that while all forms of exercise are beneficial, resistance training and aerobic exercises stand out for their significant impact.

Resistance training is especially effective at maintaining and increasing muscle mass, which in turn helps with more efficient fat burning and metabolic rate enhancement. Aerobic exercise, on the other hand, contributes significantly to overall fat loss, improving cardiovascular health and reducing fat percentages across the body.

The research paper discusses different forms of cardiovascular training (often referred to simply as "cardio") for postmenopausal women, emphasizing both aerobic training and resistance training. The study specifically mentions aerobic training (AT) as beneficial for reducing fat mass and improving pulmonary function. This form of training is characterized by activities that increase the heart rate and respiratory rate, typically including exercises like walking, running, cycling, or swimming.

Aerobic training was found to be effective not just for reducing fat mass, particularly visceral fat, but also for improving muscle function and potentially contributing to skeletal muscle hypertrophy, which are critical for combating sarcopenia in the elderly. This type of exercise is generally performed at moderate intensity, where the individual can still talk but might be too breathless to sing.

Strength Key to Fat Loss After 45

In terms of resistance training (RT), the research highlights its role in improving muscle strength and mass. Resistance training involves exercises that cause the muscles to contract against an external resistance with the expectation of increases in strength, tone, mass, and/or endurance. This could include lifting weights, using resistance bands, or doing body-weight exercises like push-ups and squats.

The intensity of these exercises was not specifically quantified in the abstract, but resistance training often involves varying intensities depending on the load and the number of repetitions performed, typically structured in sets.

Overall, the study underlines that both aerobic and resistance exercises are integral for managing health outcomes in postmenopausal women, with specific benefits attributed to each type depending on the targeted health outcome.

Resources:

**10 Day Challenge: https://www.flippingiffty.com/hnb-challenge**

**STRONGER 12 Week program: https://www.flippnigfifty.com/getstronger**

Other Episodes You Might Like:

• Woman to Woman: How to Get Your Best Sleep in Midlife - https://www.flippingfifty.com/how-to-get-your-best-sleep/
• How Toxins are Disrupting Your Sex, Stress and Thyroid Hormones - https://www.flippingfifty.com/how-toxins-are-disrupting-your-sex-stress-and-thyroid-hormones/
• Enhancing Gut Health to Enhance Weight Loss & Muscle Strength - https://www.flippingfifty.com/gut-health/

Reference:

Khalafi Mousa , Habibi Maleki Aref , Sakhaei Mohammad Hossein , Rosenkranz Sara K. , Pourvaghar Mohammad Javad , Ehsanifar Mahsa , Bayat Hadis , Korivi Mallikarjuna , Liu Yubo. The effects of exercise training on body composition in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Endocrinology VOLUME 14, 2023

URL= https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1183765