7: Losing Weight: Perimenopause Edition

Did you know it IS possible to lose weight in perimenopause?

It requires a different approach than you're used to, but doing the "right" things with your nutrition, fitness, and mindset can help the number on the scale to budge. Finally!

In this episode we dig into what kind of fitness and nutrition works best for perimenopause weight loss. Learn how cardio is a no-go, and why nutrition is about more than the food you eat.

Plus, you'll get an inside look at what it takes to adjust your mindset, to achieve the weight loss goals you're after!

• To get started on your own journey, DM the word PERIMENOPAUSE to me on Instagram, or send me an email to ashley@ashleymalik.com. 
• Kick-off your anti-inflammatory nutrition journey with a dinner plan that is family-friendly, too! Click here to download your copy and start cooking today!

*** Ready to lose 15 lbs in 10 weeks? The Method gives you all the tools to make it happen! We start April 2nd. To learn more about The Method, click here!

Transcript

Ashley Malik (00:11.082)
As you get older, it feels inevitable.

Ashley Malik (00:39.03)
As you get older, it feels inevitable that weight gain from perimenopause. You first start to notice it when the weight starts packing on around your middle. And even though you try lots of different things, nothing seems to work. You keep gaining weight and it's slow, but it's definitely adding up year after year. And eventually, you get to this fork in the road and you do one of two things. Either you

quietly quit. just stop trying because nothing works or you get super fed up and you try and figure out what to do about this midlife weight creep.

Ashley Malik (01:26.902)
No matter which path you've chosen, I have some tips and secrets that are going to help you to actually lose weight with perimenopause. I am super excited about this episode because you are going to walk away with some tricks that you can actually start trying today. Now, remember, I'm not a doctor, but I want to share what has worked for me.

and exactly what I've done to lose eight pounds in perimenopause so far. So let's do a quick terminology check. Perimenopause is the years that are leading up to menopause. So doctors say that this typically begins in your early to mid 40s and studies show that more than 50 % of women gain upwards of two pounds a year

just from the hormonal fluctuations of perimenopause. But menopause, on the other hand, is when you haven't had a period for an entire year. So the tips that we're talking about today, they'll work at any time, but they're really best to start during that time of perimenopause.

Ashley Malik (02:40.494)
Ahem.

So first, let's start with a little bit of background. I recently lost eight pounds in 10 weeks. And I did this smack dab in the middle of perimenopause. I am definitely there. If you have been on a call with me or you've gone out to dinner with me recently, you will know that I carry a fan with me everywhere I go. The hot flashes are unbearable. My fan is like this nylon frisbee that looks like a soccer ball.

but it totally does the trick. So I take it with me everywhere. I had a hysterectomy in 2023.

Ashley Malik (03:23.502)
I had a hysterectomy in 2023, but I kept my ovaries so I didn't go into instant menopause. But before that, I had already been struggling with unusual weight gain for the past couple of years, along with other symptoms like brain fog and trouble sleeping. And of course now all of the hot flashes. The weight gain was different because it was around my middle, which is really unusual for me. I typically carry my weight and my hips and my thighs.

So I decided to figure it out so that I didn't keep gaining weight. And what's fun is I got to put my health coaching tools to the test on myself. And here's what I found. We're going to look at three different areas. And I know nutrition and fitness probably seem really obvious. So we're definitely going to dig into those. But I want you to keep listening towards the end because I want you to hear how the

biggest impact on my weight loss came from managing my mindset differently. I know that sounds sort of like a like what does that mean Ashley? So I'll explain what that means and I'll explain how I made these changes that really did help my weight loss. But first let's tackle fitness.

Ashley Malik (04:47.692)
In the past, when you've gained weight, you might have resorted to adding in some cardio classes or doing some extra running. And in your 20s, that is all you had to do to drop the weight. It was so easy. But in perimenopause, your body needs something completely different. So the really good news is that it is time to say goodbye to long cardio sessions, HIIT training, and CrossFit.

Now, I will say if you already have an athletic base with cardio or CrossFit, this may not apply to you. But if you're like most women that I work with, you probably don't have a consistent fitness routine. And so for you, cardio, intense cardio especially, shouldn't be the thing that you jump into when you start gaining this weight and perimenopause. So why not? It's good to know that that kind of intense workout

actually increases inflammation in your body. And when we're in perimenopause, you are losing estrogen. That's what's happening and why you have all these symptoms. But estrogen helps to regulate your inflammation. So when you have less of it, you actually need to do everything you can to reduce inflammation on your own. And so if you're like,

many of the women that I talk with, you're probably pretty excited that you can stop doing cardio. But then there's the question of, well, what should I be doing instead? So a combination of low impact workouts and strength training is going to give you the best results in the shortest amount of time. That's what we want, right? We want to lose weight quickly. So low impact workouts are things like

brisk walking, is absolutely my favorite. If you don't know, we recently got a puppy and so we're out taking walks every day all day long. You could also opt for swimming or bike riding either on the road or on a stationary bike and even rowing. Those are all some great options for low impact workout.

Ashley Malik (07:06.634)
As for strength training, you will see huge benefits from lifting weights, especially the older you get. You can lose up to 10 % of your muscle mass during perimenopause. So it is really important to keep building muscle every day. Because I mean, you want to be able to get on and off the toilet by yourself when you're 70, right? So we've got to keep building those muscles.

And strength training can be done from home or in a gym. Don't let yourself give in to those excuses. I lost eight pounds by lifting dumbbells at home. At home, I never went to a gym. You don't need a gym. You don't need a personal trainer. You do, however, need to follow a plan that is designed to help you with

You do need a plan.

Ashley Malik (08:10.648)
but you do need to follow a plan that's designed to help you lift weights safely and within your skill level, even from a beginner. If you need help with that, just send me a DM on Instagram or send me an email. I can definitely help you get started so that you can work out at home and see some of these strength gains. I also want you to learn how to lift heavier than you think you can. I've been tracking my weights and I am

amazed at how strong I've gotten in the past couple of months. And I promise you are not going to bulk up like a bodybuilder. We need way more testosterone to do that. And it's just not going to happen in a woman's body, but you will get strong, fit and toned. And gosh, what better way to give perimenopause the middle finger, right? Looking amazing and losing weight. All right.

Let's take a look at nutrition next because it has a huge impact on perimenopause weight loss as well. Now, of course, if you've listened to any of my other episodes, you can assume that I'm going to tell you an anti-inflammatory diet is the only way to go if you want to lose weight in perimenopause. Now remember, when we lose estrogen in perimenopause, it's harder for our body to fight against that inflammation. So

eating an anti-inflammatory diet is going to help you keep that inflammation down. Plus, lack of estrogen also causes a lot of disruption in our gut microbiome. So if you're eating anti-inflammatory foods, you're actually going to really help keep things in check. So you want to be thinking about whole nutrient-dense foods. You should prioritize protein, deeply colored veggies and fruits,

and steer clear of gluten, refined sugar, and alcohol. Now I know, I know, nobody wants to say goodbye to their nightly glass of red wine, but you are going to feel so much better if you do. And seriously, like weight loss is your goal, right? But alcohol is just these empty calories and it increases inflammation.

Ashley Malik (10:34.136)
So just try it. Try going without for 30 days and see if it doesn't make a huge difference to your weights. So just try it. Try going without for 30 days and see if it doesn't make a difference to your waistline. Now, along with the type of foods you eat, portion sizes become super important in perimenopause.

Personally, I have followed a portion tracking system for years and that is really what helped me to lose 55 pounds after I delivered my daughter. But I found out that in perimenopause, tracking my portions just, it wasn't quite enough. So I dug in and I spent some time dialing in my macros and that made all the difference in the world.

Ashley Malik (11:28.942)
So macros are the macro nutrients that make up all foods. So you want to have the appropriate balance of proteins, carbs, and fats every single day. Now, when I started tracking macros instead of portions, I actually found that I was eating too many fats and not enough carbs. But I made some slight adjustments, and it helped me to stay within a decent amount of calories.

but I still got to see progress with my weight loss. I promise you cutting calories all by itself is just not the answer. If you're trying to eat like 1200 calories in perimenopause, your body will fight you back. You will see increased inflammation and that scale will not budge. And even worse, you'll probably gain even more weight. But tracking macros helps you to eat quality food, plenty of it,

and still see changes on the scale and in your overall body measurements. All right, so we've talked about fitness and how it's time to say goodbye to intense cardio sessions. Can I get an amen? And we've talked about the importance of anti-inflammatory nutrition and balancing your macros. However, the biggest impact of all in my recent eight pound weight loss

was learning to manage my mindset. Now stay with me. I know that this gets a little bit woo, but I promise you it can make a bigger impact than workouts or food alone.

Ashley Malik (13:13.612)
Now, I am a certified mindset coach and I support women every day in managing their mindset. So I put those same tools to work for my own weight loss challenge that I use with my clients and it worked. The key here is learning to believe that your thoughts and your feelings determine your outcome, not the circumstances you're in. Let me say that again, because it's really important.

thoughts and your feelings determine your outcome, not the circumstance you're in. In the case of perimenopause, you believe to your core that your completely messed up hormones are entirely to blame for the changes in the scale. And you also want to believe that you have tried absolutely everything to lose weight, but that it will never work for you, especially now that you're in perimenopause.

It is 100 % true that lack of hormones has a huge impact on your annoying weight gain. And I know you have tried a bunch of different approaches to get rid of that weight. But when you learn to look at things differently, and this is what I mean when I say managing your mindset, here's what you might find. You might see that you haven't stopped drinking alcohol.

because you don't want to be the quiet or the sober or the unfun one when you go out with your girlfriends on a Saturday night.

Ashley Malik (14:59.416)
You also might find that you don't ask for modifications when you go out to eat because you don't want to cause any problems or quote, be the high maintenance one. And maybe you'll find that you aren't consistent with your workouts because you are convinced that you're just not a morning person. However, by the time you get home at night, you're too tired to work out. All of these scenarios are things that are thoughts and stories that you tell yourself, and they really do feel true. I get that.

but they make you feel left out or frustrated or inflexible. And because of these stories and the associated feelings, it makes it that much harder to lose weight. Because if you don't want to stop drinking alcohol, because you don't want to be the unfun friend on Saturday night, then you're adding a lot of extra calories to your diet every week with those drinks. And that's not going to get you your scale weight.

When you learn to change your stories in your mind and can you

But when you learn to change the stories in your mind and start building thoughts and feelings that are more hopeful, you can actually start to change the number on the scale too. Okay, let's take a collective deep.

Okay, let's take a deep breath. This episode was filled with a lot of information, but I want you to see that it is entirely possible to lose weight even in perimenopause, but it's going to take a different approach, okay? It's going to take different tools than you might be used to, and it definitely takes a willingness to try something different, all in the name of getting the outcome you want.

Ashley Malik (16:53.644)
which is to feel better in your skin. If you feel so excited by all of this and you wanna get started, but you're still thinking like, I don't even know how, I want you to send me a DM on Instagram or send me an email with the word perimenopause. I'm gonna send you resources that can help you to get started today.

Ashley Malik (17:29.154)
Don't give into the excuse that you don't know what to do next. Just send me a message and I will help you take that very first step.

Ashley Malik (17:40.142)
Perimenopause is a challenging time for women and weight gain is just one of the many things that we have to contend with. You should definitely see your doctor to get some help with the other symptoms and to be sure you're as healthy as possible all through perimenopause. But there is so much that you can do on your own today, literally today, to get started in feeling better and losing that weight. Working to reduce your inflammation,

building strong muscles and managing your mindset can actually help you lose weight right now. And during a time in your life when it feels like your body is so out of control, it's actually really nice to know that we can at least be in control of a few things.