TURNING ON METABOLISM AFTER AGAE 50 - YES YOU CAN!

As we age, the melody of our metabolism tends to slow down, often leading to feelings of frustration, fatigue, helplessness and depression. Hitting that milestone of turning 50 however, does not mean you ladies (or gentlemen) have to resign yourselves to this slower pace, and all the negative comes with. You can retune your body, re-fire you metabolism, and reverse those debilitating symtoms, and it doesn't require shots, magic pills, surgery or sculpting to make it happen. In fact those things often make things worse.

Instead, when you focus on putting together the foods you love in a way that creates hormonal balance and stabilizes blood sugar, your body and all its systems become balanced, allowing you to achieve the results you want and get to keep because it works with the way your body was designed to function. Exactly the opposite to all the diets, quick fixes, and invasive procedures out there.

It's important to recognize there are biological shifts that occur in an around our 50's. Our bodies experience changes in hormone levels, muscle mass, and metabolic rate. All of these can be minimized however and drastic changes don't have to be the norm, unless you let it. The small things we do – or don't do – consistently over time is what got us exactly where we are today. Ironically, that same principle of small things – I call it 1% - is what will also get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

Hormonal balance is the key to keeping your metabolism turned on and firing. As we age, fluctuations in hormones like estrogen, testosterone, and insulin can lead to slower metabolism, increased fat storage, especially around the midsection, low energy, poor sleep and changes in mood. The secret to navigating these changes lies in how you're fuelling your body. There are six “plates” involved in serving up our health – nutrition, exercise/movement, water, stress, sleep, supplementation. Nutrition, our food, is the foundation.

Like any structure, without a strong foundation it's not going to last very long. Removing foods that are know to cause/trigger inflammation and incorporating more single-ingredient foods is a great place to start. Gluten, grains, soy, dairy, alcohol, sugar, coffee, are known to cause inflammation in most people. As well, anything that come in a package, box, bag, can or wrapper will have toxins and chemicals that your liver needs to deal with, not to mention processed items cause blood sugar to spike, resulting in fat storage.

Focusing on a diet that stabilizes blood sugar levels is crucial. Consistent, high spikes in blood sugar over time can lead to insulin resistance, a condition where the body's cells don't respond effectively to insulin, causing the pancreas to become overworked, eventually resulting in diabetes if not checked. To counteract this, embracing a diet rich in fibre, clean proteins and healthy fats, in the right portions makes a world of difference. These nutrients slow down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, providing a stable energy release and keeping hunger at bay. Think colorful plates filled with leafy greens, veggies, berries, healthy fats, and clean proteins.

Keeping your plates up and “spinning”, consistently will get you where you want to be. Think of the circus juggler. He gets them up one at a time and when they're all up it's a beautiful show of balance. When one starts to wobble, all he has to do is adjust position and it's all good. Same with our six plates. When life happens to knock us off track, identify which plate(s) are wobbly, make the adjustments and you're back on track.

Eating a protein, fat and carb, together within the first hour of waking, and then every three to four hours throughout the day will keep your hormones balanced, blood sugar stabilized and nutrition plate spinning. Adding daily exercise including strength training, helps build muscle which supports metabolism and helps your body burn more fat.

Drink more water than any other beverage, including coffee, to flush out toxins and fat and support cognitive function, memory, focus and productivity.

Manage stress. Living in a constant state of stress, anxiety and/or on edge triggers your body to release cortisol, store fat and slow metabolism.

Get enough good quality sleep. Without it, your body can't properly metabolize the food you put in, and the hormones that send the hunger and full signals get mixed up making you eat more than you normally would.

Find and fill your nutritional gaps. We all have gaps, and knowing where your deficiencies life and how to fil them supports all other areas of your heatlh, well being and hormonal balance.

You don't have to do it all to get results, but you do have to start. Start with what you put on your plate and go from there. I coach my clients to be “all in”, but at one percent. Anyone can do something one percent better for their health today than they did yesterday. Commit to being consistent with that and you'll be amazed at where you'll be with your health this time next year.

For more information on hormonal balance and blood sugar stabilization, watch Tania's free 15mins video.