The Crone

The Crone

Ovarian shutdown

Hormone rollercoaster finally over.  Menopause symptoms have ended. Womanly shape disappearing, belly fat taking over and impossible to shift with rise of testosterone. Tired, frustrated and almost giving up on your body. Aches, pains and slow to get up and down. Joints can be inflammed. Hip, knee, feet or lower back pain can be limitations to exercise.

Your Hormone Type tells us you’re past the point where estrogen and progesterone were rocking gently back and forth on the metabolic see-saw…And you’ve made it through the worst of the chaos of perimenopause. At this point, your hormones are more stable, but your lower estrogen levels make you more sensitive to carbs than you once were. And your lower levels of progesterone make you more sensitive to stress.

Plus, at this stage in life, you have relatively higher levels of testosterone than before… so when you do gain fat, you’ll store it more around your belly like men do, so you have to adjust your eating to deal with this new reality. To do that, you have to find the carb tipping point.

A lot of people avoid carbs because they’ve heard they make you fat. That’s not true. No single type of food makes you fat. Obviously you can’t eat 60 loafs of bread and expect a flat belly…That will cause a nasty spike in insulin – the primary hormone that promotes fat storage.

On the other hand, you can’t swear off carbs all-together. That’s because when your body doesn’t get enough carbs, it can cause an equally nasty spike in the stress hormone cortisol. Your body uses cortisol as an emergency fuel producer when you don’t have enough carbs. And one way it creates that fuel is by breaking down muscle tissue.

Unfortunately, cortisol also interferes with your fat burning hormones. Eat too many carbs and insulin is the problem. Eat too few carbs and cortisol is the problem, so I don’t want you to dramatically slash the number of carbs you eat – The trick is to eat them at the right times… when they work best with your Hormone Type.

Simply by changing WHEN you eat your favorite carbs, you can supercharge your metabolism, stop fat from piling on in your tummy, and sleep like a baby at night.

Here’s what you do:

1. Follow the Carb Cycling formula and on Reg Calorie and Feast days, count up the average number of carbs you eat in a day.

2. I want you to eat about half that amount with breakfast in the morning, And eat the other half with your last meal of the day in the evening.

In between, stick to low carb foods like salads and protein shakes.

This approach will stop your stress hormones from spiking in the morning so you start your day calm and focused…And it will suppress them in the evening so you can easily fall asleep.

Take more rest during exercise. Your workout motto needs to be: “Push until you can’t, rest until you can.”

Find rest time even in shorter and higher intensity workouts.

It’s no secret that you’re not 20-years-old anymore. If you try to push yourself through these 20-minute workouts with no breaks, you’re going to flood your body with cortisol, so get plenty of rest during the workouts.

We promise, it will get you better results much faster.

Metabolism priming workouts

3x 20 min Metabolic HIIT workouts MAXIMUM (2x LEAN, 1 x CURVY OR STRONG) NO MORE THAN THIS A WEEK. Do not be tempted to do more or heavier.

At least 1 hour a week of Sprint Bursts followed by a Long Relaxed Walk – no jogging.

At least 1 hour a week of Stress Relieving/Breathing practices such as Yoga and building up to a 10-minute Meditation

Now that you’re done with menopause, you should take this stress reduction even further. Your goal is to decrease the effects of stress on your brain and body as you adapt to the new reality of lower estrogen and progesterone. And the best way to do that is get more good quality sleep.

Sleep puts your body in restoration mode. You can think of it as a reboot for your metabolic hard drive. That means – if possible – you should go to bed an hour earlier and wake up an hour later. There is only one problem … you may have difficulty falling asleep at night. So here’s what to do: Add a nap to your daily routine. Research shows that even a 10-minute nap can undo a lot of the hormonal damage caused by sleep loss. The best time to nap is usually between 12 pm and 4 pm. That way you get the recovery benefits without disrupting your normal sleep schedule.

Coenzyme Q(10)

Coenzyme Q(10) or CoQ10 is an antioxidant that helps convert food into energy and is needed for basic cell function. While it is naturally made in the body, production decreases with age. “This is another one of my favorites,” says Justice. “It’s key for your body’s energy transport system, great for cardiovascular health, and can help with hot flashes, mood swings, and depression.” Studies suggest that CoQ10 may lessen cognitive decline in postmenopausal women and can be important for women taking hormone replacement therapy or blood pressure or thyroid medications—all of which can further deplete CoQ10 levels.

Flaxseeds or Flaxseed Oil

Substances called lignins in flaxseed are important modulators of hormone metabolism. Grind flaxseed fresh daily in a coffee grinder at home and use 1 to 2 tablespoons a day.

Curcumin
Research has shown that curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, may provide anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antitumor, and antidepressant benefits. “Curcumin is extremely anti-inflammatory and has lots of brain health benefits and cardiovascular benefits,” says Justice. Curcumin has been found to have few if any side effects, but it can also be difficult for the body to absorb. When researching curcumin supplements, be sure to choose one with black pepper extract or piperine, which has been shown to help with absorption.

B vitamins.

This group of water-soluble vitamins may help women deal with the stress of post-menopausal symptoms.

Omega-3s in fish oil or Ahi Flower Oil

This have an effective and potent natural anti-inflammatory effect that’s key during and after menopause. “It’s not only helpful in terms of cardiovascular benefits and lowering triglycerides, but this powerful antioxidant also helps preserve brain function including cognitive delay, dementia, and Alzheimer’s,” explains Ross. The American Heart Association “recommends eating at least two servings of fish (salmon, trout, sole, sardines and herring) a week,” but supplements are needed to get adequate amounts to score these health benefits. Ross recommends menopausal women take a fish oil supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams of EPA and DHA daily.  Vegans can replace this with Ahiflower supplements.