If you've been eating less and less to try and lose weight, and it's not working, it's not a willpower problem.
It's not a discipline problem either.
It's the approach.
1. Eating less doesn't work in the long run
A lot of women have been taught that eating less is the way to lose weight.
Here's the cycle I've seen so many times.
You restrict yourself.
You lose a little weight, maybe 3 to 5kg.
Then you cut even more, and the weight loss stalls.
Now you're still restricting and still eating less, but the weight isn't moving.
That's usually where the self-blame starts.
If you take one thing away from this post, let it be this: you are not the problem.
The method is the problem.
2. Under-eating costs you muscle
When you eat less food overall, you also get less protein.
In perimenopause, your oestrogen levels are already naturally starting to fall.
Eating less protein and too few calories speeds that process up, which is the opposite of what you want if your goal is to get fitter, stronger, tone up and feel really good in your clothes.
So we actually want more protein and the right amount of food, not less.
A really simple tip: at every meal, aim for a palm-size portion of protein on your plate.
If you have chicken, literally put your palm beside it and check it's a similar size.
A large palm-size portion gives you roughly 20 to 30g of protein.
Ideally, you want to be around the 30g mark per meal.
If you track your food in an app like MyFitnessPal, aim for 25 to 30g of protein per meal as a starting point.
3. The rebound and the yo-yo
This is the part of the cycle nobody talks about.
You restrict, you lose a bit, then you plateau, so you restrict even more.
Hunger goes up.
Cravings go up.
Energy comes down.
We're only human beings at the end of the day, not machines.
You can only restrict yourself for so long.
Eventually there are a few days where you eat a lot more, the weight goes up, and then the guilt kicks in: "I've ruined my progress now."
That vicious cycle does not feel good, and it doesn't work.
A lot of the women I work with have been to Slimming World or WeightWatchers before, and the weekly weigh-in adds even more guilt.
So get rid of the weighing scales.
Use tape measurements and how your clothes fit instead.
At the end of the day, the goal is to feel good in your clothes, so use your clothes as the measurement.
4. Start with your sleep
To get out of the yo-yo cycle, I start every client in the same place.
There are five holistic areas I focus on, in this order: sleep, food, movement, self-care and managing stress.
They're all connected, but sleep is always number one.
When your sleep improves, you get less hunger, fewer cravings and more energy.
That makes everything else so much easier to stick to, including eating more protein.
A simple place to start: pick a realistic time to begin switching off.
I get most people to aim to start switching off around 10pm, and to be asleep between 10:30 and 11pm.
With more energy, you'll find it easier to get your steps in, do a workout or some stretching, and you're less likely to snack in the evening.
Add the palm-size protein at every meal and you'll feel fuller too.
Little changes, all supporting your body instead of restricting it.
5. What actually works
Putting it all together:
- Sleep first: a good routine, ideally asleep between 10:30 and 11pm.
- Protein: a palm-size portion, about 25 to 30g, at every meal.
- Strength training: two workouts a week of 20 to 30 minutes is enough to get started. If your goal is to lose weight and tone up, this is the number one way to do it.
- Daily steps: whatever is manageable for you. Even 30 minutes a day to start, then build gradually.
- Ditch the scales: pick one or two pieces of clothing you love, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt or a dress, and use them as your benchmark.
You don't need to restrict yourself.
You don't need to rely on willpower.
You don't need to cut your calories.
You just need an approach that works with your body during perimenopause.
Want some support with this?
This is what I've been helping women with for nearly 10 years.
If you'd like a hand, take my 60-second goals quiz and book a free call: https://reset.coachelan.com/
We'll chat about your goals and challenges, map out where you'd love to be in a year, and see if we're the right fit.
No pressure either way.