What happened to my waist?
About four years ago, I started to notice that I was getting a little squishy around my midsection. I chalked it up to being 46, after all that’s normal, right? That’s just what happens to your body as you get older. I kept pretty active with lots of walking and CrossFit two or three times a week along with a moderately healthy diet. My normal routine kept my weight in check. Until it didn’t anymore.
It seemed as if almost overnight I started gaining weight for no reason. So, I did what I always did in the past, I ate less, and I exercised more. Only this time it didn’t work. In fact, the more I exercised and the less I ate, it seemed more weight I gained. It didn’t make any sense. How could I be eating healthy and exercising a lot and still putting on weight? I was counting macros and cycling between 1200 to 1800 calories a day and I was hungry ALL THE TIME. I walked every day, I rode my peloton three or four times a week and I went to Pilates and hot yoga, three or four times a week, but nothing helped. Despite all of my efforts, my waist just disappeared, and I developed a potbelly.
None of my pants fit, unless you counted leggings or sweatpants, and I just didn’t feel like myself. I became very self-conscious about my midsection in particular and my body in general. I started to believe that this is just what happens to women when they hit perimenopause and turn 50. I felt fat, frustrated, and discouraged. Being fit had always been a very important part of my life and my identity, and it was gone, along with my confidence and my waist.
In addition to my weight gain, I also had other symptoms like extreme fatigue, brain, fog, moodiness, cravings (so many cravings!), depression, and sleep disruptions, such as hot flashes and 2:00 am awakenings. Plus, my periods were erratic, heavy and came with extreme cramping and migraines. Again, I was convinced that this was normal after all, I was nearly 50. Our bodies change with time, and I just had to accept it.
Then I did the functional lab testing as part of my FDN training. It was a complete eye-opener. I learned that I had extreme adrenal fatigue. I was in what we refer to in FDN as the exhaustive phase of HPA axis dysfunction. My body was no longer able to produce enough cortisol to help me start my day, let alone make it through my day. That explained my fatigue, as well as some of my other symptoms. (You can read more about cortisol here) Additionally, I was estrogen dominant, which is a big contributor to midsection weight gain. And that was just the tip of the ice burg. The functional testing revealed so many imbalances and healing opportunities for me to work on. Even though I was eating what most people would consider a healthy diet and exercising regularly, I wasn’t doing the right things for my unique body.
At the end of October, I started following my Metabolic Typing diet and significantly reducing the amount of exercise I was doing to allow my adrenals time to heal. I also worked on removing stressors, improving my sleep routine, and added in some targeted supplements. To my surprise and delight my body started responding positively. Three months later I feel like a new person! My energy is back. I actually wake up in the morning feeling rested and awake. No more brain fog or cravings, I’m rarely moody or depressed (and that’s saying a lot since it’s winter and I’m not a fan), and my periods have normalized with minimal cramping and no menstrual migraines for the first time in years. Here’s the icing on the cake…I ‘ve lost 10 pounds in the last three months without any crazy dieting or exercising! My “gut” is nearly gone and my body is starting to feel like “me” again. I’d still like to lose about 10 more pounds, but I’m also ok if I don’t, because my quality of life is so much better and my health is far more important than a number on the scale or a size on my jeans.
A big take away I learned is this: just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s normal. Turning 50 doesn’t automatically need to mean that we gain weight and have to live with uncomfortable symptoms. By utilizing functional lab testing to uncover hidden balances, it’s possible to understand why we’re experiencing certain symptoms and to create a health rebuilding protocol that allows the body to heal. If you’re ready to start feeling like “you” again, let’s chat.
A big take away I learned is this: just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s normal. Turning 50 doesn’t automatically need to mean that we gain weight and have to live with uncomfortable symptoms. By utilizing functional lab testing to uncover hidden balances, it’s possible to understand why we’re experiencing certain symptoms and to create a health rebuilding protocol that allows the body to heal. If you’re ready to start feeling like “you” again, let’s chat.