The Ultimate Guide to Perimenopause & Menopause Weight Gain Part 2

[00:00:00]Perimenopause made me gain 50 lb over the course of [music] 6 months. So, here's everything that I wish that someone would have warned me about. What used to work >> [music] >> no longer works. I cannot train or diet as hard as I used to because it will completely stress my body out, and I will ultimately end up gaining even more weight. Super heavy weight lifting and really [music] intense cardio would make my body so puffy and inflamed. And this leads me into point number two, [music] you cannot lose weight when your nervous system is dysregulated. And this really freaking sucks because perimenopause [music] is hands down one of the most stressful things that your body will ever >> [music] >> have to endure. But, when your body is stuck in fight or flight, it does not care how many times you went to the gym this week. It is [music] just trying to survive. And then last but not least, trying to lose weight without [music] supporting your hormones is virtually impossible, especially testosterone.

[00:00:53]Trying to [music] out-diet or out-train a testosterone deficiency is going to get you literally nowhere. And this is important to just keep [music] in the back of your mind because most women in perimenopause have depressingly low testosterone levels. Thankfully, [music] after taking these things into consideration, my body is pretty much back to normal. But, let me know in the comments if you guys want me to make a follow-up video [music] about nervous system regulation because I actually have some super helpful tips on some different stress metrics that you should be tracking. Perimenopause made me gain 50 lb over the course of 6 months even though I wasn't doing anything different. So, obviously, hormonal decline is the primary cause of this, but the other contributing factor that no one seems to be talking about is nervous system dysregulation. And believe me when I say, you cannot lose weight when your body is stuck in survival mode. But, I already know what you're thinking, Kaylen, how can I know if my body is really stuck in fight or flight? Well, there's actually a metric that you can track that basically gauges the health of your nervous system, and this is called HRV or heart rate variability. HRV tells us how well your body is able to handle stress at any given time, and this can be easily tracked with something like an Oura Ring, a Fitbit, Apple Watch, Whoop, any type of wearable. An optimal HRV is really anything over 50. But, if your HRV is consistently [music] less than that, that probably means that your body is pretty stressed. For example, before I started HRT, my average HRV was 11, [music] which means that my body was constantly fighting for its life. In fact, my body was so stressed that I actually developed an autoimmune condition, but I'll save that for another video. Moral [music] of the story, pushing yourself even harder when your body is already in distress will ultimately cause your body more harm.

[00:02:32]You have to prioritize your nervous [music] system and your hormones, or your body will ultimately shut down, which I had to learn the hard way. But, let me know if you guys want a follow-up video about what my optimal hormone levels are and how this helped heal my nervous system and my metabolism. I have successfully lost 50 lb after perimenopause completely destroyed my metabolism. So, I'm going to quickly run you through every single thing that I've done, so that way you can do it, too.

[00:02:57]Number one is HRT. Dare I say that this is the most important thing that is on this list. I'm on injectable estradiol, injectable testosterone, and then I take oral and suppository progesterone. These are my personal optimal ranges, but this is going to vary from person to person.

[00:03:12]Number two, I stopped eating in a deficit. I never eat below maintenance calories, ever. I realized that my body really doesn't need the additional stress of thinking that it is starving.

[00:03:22]Number three, I stopped training super hard. I used to be a competitive bodybuilder, so making the switch to lower intensity training was actually really difficult for me, but I am now a long-distance rollerblader, and my body couldn't be happier. Number four, I have started recently microdosing a and this [music] has made such a significant improvement for my inflammation. And last but not least, we have nervous system regulation. I [music] have an abundance of videos on my page that explain different ways that you can help regulate your nervous system, but hands down the the impactful thing that I've done for my nervous system is rest. [music] I am no longer interested in running my body into the ground. So, when my body wants to rest, I let my body rest without judgment. Let me know in the comments if you guys have any specific questions about >> [music] >> any of this or if you'd like me to dive deeper into any of these specific topics. You guys know I love talking about this stuff.

[00:04:10]>> Hey Kaylen.

[00:04:10]>> Yes.

[00:04:11]>> Love it or leave it perimenopause weight loss edition. Go. Weighted vest.

[00:04:15]>> I love weighted vests. Obviously, like resistance training and weight training are incredible for your metabolism, but if you don't like to go to the gym, then I do think that a weighted vest is a great alternative.

[00:04:25]>> Estroven weight management.

[00:04:27]>> Leave it. I don't even know what the ingredients are on that, but I >> [music] >> just leave it.

[00:04:32]>> Vibration plate.

[00:04:33]>> I love vibration plates, but I specifically love them for lymphatic drainage and for nervous system regulation.

[00:04:41]>> Berberine and inositol.

[00:04:42]>> Love it. That's always going to be my number one supplement recommendation for perimenopause induced metabolic dysfunction.

[00:04:47]>> [music] >> Hit cardio.

[00:04:50]>> Leave it. I'm not a fan of high-intensity [music] interval training for perimenopause specifically just because it can be very stressful on your body. I much prefer low-intensity steady [music] state like walking.

[00:05:01]>> Fasting.

[00:05:02]>> Leave it. I'm not a fan of fasting. I think that fasting, [music] especially like intermittent fasting, like long periods of time without eating can be really stressful on your body if you're in perimenopause or menopause.

[00:05:11]>> Sauna.

[00:05:12]>> Love it. Again, I love this one for lymphatic drainage, but then it's also a great way to just naturally detox your body.

[00:05:18]>> HRT.

[00:05:19]>> Obviously, love it. If you want to support your metabolism, then you have to support [music] your hormones.