Understanding Stress, Hormones, and Weight Loss Struggles for Women in Midlife

Natalie Tysdal (00:00)

Hi everyone, it's Natalie. As a reporter, I've been covering health news, including weight loss and metabolism for nearly three decades. Makes me feel old. But every few years, the rules change. Low fat, low carb, more cardio, lift heavier, count macros, heal your gut, balance your hormones. What I've noticed recently is this. The women struggling the most are not lazy. They're actually really motivated, but they're exhausted.

They're juggling aging parents, maybe teenagers or toddlers, careers, hormone shifts, interrupted sleep, and constant health information. Exhaustion changes your metabolism. Chronic stress changes your metabolism. And midlife changes the way your body responds to both of those things. So today, I want to dig into all of that and give you some guidance and hopefully some support.

If you're listening for the first time, I'm so glad you're here and you can find more resources for your health on my website, natalie.com and in my newsletter, which I will link in today's show notes.

Let's start by talking about cortisol. Cortisol is really not bad. It's actually protective. It helps you wake up in the morning. It mobilizes energy when you need to respond to stress. It keeps blood sugar available for your brain. You need cortisol. The problem is not the cortisol itself. The problem is chronic cortisol. When stress becomes constant emotionally, mentally, physiologically, cortisol stays elevated longer than it should.

And in paramenopause and in midlife, well, that's where the major shifts happen. And before we know it, it's hit us and everything changes. Estrogen fluctuates, progesterone declines, sleep becomes lighter. We're not sleeping through the night. Our nervous systems become more reactive. Do you know what I'm talking about? Moms who freak out, you can't figure out why you just had a freak out. Stress hits harder in this time of life. And recovery,

takes a lot longer. Now layer that into weight loss. Elevated cortisol over time can impact your insulin sensitivity, encourage abdominal fat storage, and disrupt thyroid hormone conversion. And it interferes with that deep sleep we need so desperately. It also increases our cravings through blood sugar swings. So it's really not about willpower, but we're used to trying harder to get everything we want. So we feel

like we're doing it all wrong, but it's actually biology under pressure. Here's what I see happen over and over. And I say this as a journalist who has interviewed hundreds, if not thousands of experts. And also as a woman who's been through it myself, you gain weight, you restrict more because you wanna lose weight, so you're cutting calories. You add more cardio in, you cut the calories.

Then you feel guilty because it's not working and maybe you had that cookie that you just didn't feel like you should have, but you know what? You actually deserved it. You get down on yourself and this is a loop that you just go round and round in. Do you know what I'm talking about? Here's what happens. Restriction actually increases your stress level and then your stress, it increases that cortisol again. And then your fat loss slows down. You're restricting more and your body feels

unsafe. Midlife is already a hormonal transition and chronic stress, you add that in and the body is going to protect itself. Sometimes weight resistance is really not failure, it's protection. It's your body just trying to stay safe. So maybe instead of asking, how do I eat less today? Try asking yourself this question. Does my body feel safe enough to release weight?

You might not want to believe this, but your metabolism listens to your nervous system. If your system is constantly in fight or flight, like you're trying to save someone's life because we feel like we are, maybe you're rushed, maybe you are tired or underfed or overextended. Your body is going to prioritize survival over aesthetics, no matter how much money you spend at the spa.

or getting any type of procedure, your body is going to protect itself because safety precedes change. And here's something that often gets missed. Stress doesn't just raise cortisol, it alters your gut. I talk a lot about gut. My family makes fun of me because I'm always talking about gut because it matters. Chronic stress can reduce the diversity of your gut microbiome. Why is that important? It is so important because it also can increase inflammation.

disrupt digestion, affect mood regulation, influence how your body processes glucose. Your gut and your brain are in constant communication with each other. This is called, you've probably heard of it, the gut brain axis. Let me say it again, the gut brain axis. So many of the doctors and experts that I talk to tell me this. So when stress is high, your digestion is actually going to shift. And when your digestion shifts,

That's when inflammation can increase. And then when that happens, your metabolism and the ability to lose weight completely changes. So now you're fighting physiology, not calories. This is why I've been paying closer attention to the gut brain axis and that connection in my midlife era. And it's why I talk about it so much here on the podcast and on my website and in my newsletter. There are many things that I do to help my gut.

And I think these are things that will help you to number one, probiotics. They are key. I'm going to put a link in the show notes today for the probiotics that I use specifically. We should be targeting to support the gut brain connection, not just digestion. So you want strains of probiotics that support healthy levels of calming neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA, which play a role in how we respond to everyday stress. However,

There is no magic pill. No supplement replaces sleep and movement and stress regulation. When we're talking about cortisol, inflammation, mood and weight resistance, supporting the microbiome can be one helpful layer, but you have to do all of those other things. If weight loss has been stalled for you, try shifting your focus. So instead of more cardio, more cutting, more elimination,

Try starting with just regulation. Prioritize your sleep over any calorie math. If you have an app, and I've used those apps too, MyFitnessPal, Lifesum, all of those, they can be helpful, but try prioritizing your sleep first before you do that calorie math. Lift weights instead of pushing cardio over and over and wearing yourself out. Take a walk after a meal to support blood sugar stability.

If you have a nice dinner, just go around the block afterwards. Take a walk with your husband or one of your kids 10, 15 minutes. That helps boost your digestion. Eat enough protein to signal safety to your body. Reduce decision fatigue wherever you can. I just talked about this on Instagram the other day because I realized when I make the decision that I'm going to do something and I don't have to decide what time am I going to go to the gym today?

It's at about the same time. do almost the same thing, almost the same day every week. So I don't have to think about what's going to happen that day. Most importantly, stop making weight loss an emergency because when everything feels urgent, believe me, I was in the news business for 28 years. I know that feeling of urgency. I do well in urgent situations, but that fight or flight, that cortisol.

means that your body never feels safe. And that is so important. Midlife weight loss is really not about trying harder. And that's what I want to emphasize most today. It's about calming your system. It's about blood sugar stability, nervous system support, inflammation reduction, protecting your sleep. It's about creating that environment and that life.

where your body doesn't feel under attack every single day. Because when the body feels safe, I promise you, you are going to function better. Your body is going to function better. Your mind is going to function better. And you're just going to be a happier person. The bottom line is this. You really don't need more restriction. You can start working on that. But what you need more than anything, again, this comes from a place of experience, is you need regulation.

And if you haven't listened to a few of my past episodes, specifically the episode I did a few weeks ago on the loud wellness industry, it is so loud and we don't even realize it. Start by listening to that episode right after you listen to this one, because steady is power. Remember that steady is power and your health should feel steady.

We are working to build a strong foundation here. I'm doing it right along with you and I hope this has been helpful for you today. Please reach out. You can find me at hello at natalie.com on email. You can find me on my website and social media, all those good things. Be healthy. Can't wait to talk to you again next week.