Here we are on week 2 of my journey through midlife, peri menopause and weight loss. As I woke up this morning after 9 hours of sleep and reflected on the last week, tiredness has really been the dominating theme of the last 7 days.
After saying on week one that I was feeling way more energised, this last week has felt like a struggle. So I get to lean in a little more into that and instead of judging the way I have felt, I choose to come from a place of both compassion but also enquiry.
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Why have I been feeling so tired? And what can I do about that going forward?
Tiredness and fatigue is such a huge factor for the 40+ woman.
If you are anything like me, I know you want it all. You want the career, the family life, it would be nice if the house was tidy, you want a social life, hobbies. At times, life can feel like a lot!
I believe that we can have all of these things but only as long as we are feeling rested and allow ourselves time out. We have to learn to let go of a few things and be ok with that.
Not getting enough recovery and sleep sends your hunger hormones off balance. It makes you feel hungrier as ghrelin increases, and you stop feeling as satisfied from foods when leptin decreases. So even if you are trying your best, if you just feel constantly hungry it’s really hard to stick within your calorie deficit. This is why feeling rested should be your number one priority if your goal is to lose weight.
I had a very unusual child-free Sunday. And whilst I did a little bit of work from the couch, I decided to relish in the alone time and sat down with a brew and watched a chick flick in the middle of the day, uninterrupted, and it was bliss.
Now I do get alone time in the week when the kids are at school, but then I’m either trying to fit everything else into the working week.
So the power of doing nothing on a Sunday felt wonderful, even if I still strangely feel tired today. I am putting this down to one of two things.
- Either I am feeling a tad run down or just fighting off the start of a cold. I have a bit of a scratchy throat but nothing major so I’m not sure about that one.
- Or I am in the week leading up to what ‘should’ be my period. (I have talked about this in the past as my periods are not really periods anymore but I do still get premenstrual symptoms) and I am just feeling tired bloated and lethargic.
It could be either of these things. I also have noted that I haven’t been drinking as much water. It’s pretty darn cold in the mountains right now, it’s below 0 most days and on the mountain as low as -15 Celcius. This means the water in the taps is also ice cold, so cold I’m finding that I am not drinking as much in my attempt to keep warm.
I should be grateful though really as most the time I feel too hot. Sweats anyone!!
Also, I have been up on the mountain a few times and there I also tend to not drink as much as I don’t want to be constantly needing the toilet.
So this could also result in feelings of tiredness and has also made me feel a littl more bunged up, if you know what I mean.
As I stood on the scales this morning I had just a 1lb loss this week. Though that is not at my 2lb target, I’m not taking any emotional attachment to that number. It’s just feedback and data. The fact it’s still a loss is real positive.
I now get to use this self-reflection work to make a plan for the week ahead.
This week’s action steps:
- Water – though I do drink quite a lot of herbal tea’s, I am working on always having a full glass of water on the side so that it can sit at room temperature, and reminding me to keep on drinking throughout the day.
- Fibre – To maintain good healthy digestion I want to make sure I am getting in enough fibre each day with a target to get 25g per day. Sources of fibre include:
- Eating more fruits and vegetables, which are typically high in fibre like avocado, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and artichokes
- Incorporating whole grains such as quinoa, oats, and brown rice.
- Adding beans and legumes to meals, such as lentils, chickpeas, and black beans.
- Consuming nuts and seeds, which can be a good source of both fibre and healthy fats.
- Eating more plant-based foods
- Come back to tracking more closely – I got less consistent with tracking. Let’s face it’s boring AF, but….. It was working well on week one to keep me on track. So I’m committing to doing it daily this week, it is only week 3 let’s regain that focus.
- Doing my daily video editing earlier in the evening. I have been editing my daily vlogs last thing at night. Though I am loving doing them, I don’t like being on my phone late at night. I want to have proper wind-down period 30 minutes before bed so that I can get the best quality sleep. The hopefully waking up with more energy in the day.
- Reducing mid week sugar. Once again little bits of sugar slipped in last week. As I mentioned last week, as we get older our bodies tend to become more insulin resistant. Meaning we are more affected by sugar. And one thing I noticed when I last did my no added sugar challenge, was that I got much better quality sleep according to my sleep tracker. So I want to see if it can once again have that affect as I work on improving sleep and feeling more energised through the day.
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So that’s my focus for this week. I hope this helps give you some insight and ideas for your own journey.
Love Always
Emma
If you want to learn more about revering midlife weight gain, check out my brand new Mid-life, Menopause and Weight Loss workshop that is being released on the 1st Febfuary 2023. CLICK HERE and reserve the early bird offer at just £10.
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