Fat Loss for Post-Menopausal Women

by Lisa
(Colorado)

Visitor Question:

Are there specific foods to be completely avoided that might even be low glycemic? I've dropped body fat from 47% to 33% and lost 20 lb in the last 8 months (yay, me!). My workout consists of 45 minutes of cardio 4x a week plus another workout using TRX for strength training. I still weigh 183 at 5'8" and getting through the 180 mark has been elusive. The more I work out, the hungrier I am. I eat 3 meals with 2 snacks most days. I have a lot of muscle for a woman my age (55). My ultimate goal has been to get to 160-165. Any new ideas would be helpful.

Lifetime Fat Loss Answers:

Hi Lisa,

Yay you! Good for you getting into the habit of working out and even more to the point losing the 20 lbs! You're on the right track building muscle; now you just need to release more fat. A healthy BMI is 19 - 24.9. At 183 lbs. you are closer to 28. You've got the exercise piece under control although if I were you I would add some brisk walking as often as you can as well.

If you are eating low glycemic foods only you should be good. I would need to look at a weekly food diary for you to know for sure if you are eating something that could be a problem. For that we need to do a consultation. It may be a timing issue. Are you eating a big meal at night? Don't eat both grains and protein at night.

You say the more you exercise the hungrier you are. Are you including foods with omega 3 fatty acids? Getting the plant fats is important not only for the nutrients but to keep you filled up. A big salad with raw nuts, seeds and some beef, chicken or fish will give you a lot of nutrition but not too many calories. Watch out for salad dressings though. Make your own. Look at my recipe for a low calorie salad dressing. Also eat some raw nuts before your work outs. Soups with lots of vegetables and a small amount of protein are another way to get the fiber you need and enough food without too many calories.

Since you are post menopausal, hormones probably play a role in your plateau. I would suggest reading about estrogen dominance. Dr. John Lee has written an excellent book on this topic.

Two more recommendations are to review these 10 principles of permanent weight loss and ask yourself if this is how you eat. The second is you may want to consider buying the whey powder I recommend on this page to substitute an evening meal a few times a week.

I'm sure you can go beyond the threshold of where you're at. Look at this food pyramid to make sure you're eating the correct proportions of each food group. Are you eating only low glycemic whole grains like barley, quinoa, rye, bulgur and the sprouted grains? You need to be eating 60% - 70% vegetables and fruits and the rest raw nuts, seeds and these whole grains.

Good luck and keep on keeping on!