Fitness

  • Fitness, Personal Blog, WEIGHT LOSS

    Losing Weight After 50: It’s NOT Impossible.

    Is Losing Weight After 50 Possible?

    If you are struggling with losing weight after 50, you aren’t alone. Heck, most women are struggling to lose weight after 40, and it can just get harder after that. Losing weight after 50 is not impossible, I assure you. In this blog post I will share my recent success in losing weight after 50 (I’m age 52! and have lost 24 1/2 inches and 18 lbs with the supervision of my doctor) and explain how I know you can too. Don’t be concerned about losing weight after 50, that’s it’s not possible for you simply because you’ve been at a plateau for a long time. I was stuck at 20-25 lbs over my ideal weight for the past DECADE! I can feel your pain! After you read this blog post and hear my story, you’ll understand that losing weight after 50 IS doable and I’m happy to be your guide. Let’s get started.

    trouble losing weight after 50

    How to Start Losing Weight After 50

    Those of you that have been following me for a while know what I’m going to say here. BEFORE YOU START getting serious about losing weight after 50- you have to understand how important one thing is: your HORMONES. If you have not yet had comprehensive bloodwork done yet and seen a functional medicine doctor to get on bio-identical hormonal treatment yet– most diet approaches will be a short term fix at best. Your body will ultimately end up fighting back and you’ll gain weight. I’ve seen this happen with me. That’s a sad but real truth. You can get comprehensive blood-work done via Ulta Lab Tests nationwide- CLICK HERE. They will save you soooo much money and then you’ll have bloodwork you can take to any functional medicine doctor which will save you time. GET IT DONE, TRUST ME. 

    fat loss after 50

    What I know is the secret to losing weight after 50

    Here is what I know to be true about losing weight after 50- and it’s the same as losing weight after 40. The first most important thing is to have that foundational focus on getting your HORMONES checked out. Once you are this age (and truthfully, it’s no longer even about being in your 40’s or 50’s or older, women are presenting with hormonal imbalances as early as in their twenties now– go listen to my interviews with Laurie Christine King and Alex Mazzurco if you want real life examples!) your hormones are 50% of the equation when it comes to your body’s ability to lose weight — in my opinion. Ignoring your hormones means you’ll be facing an uphill battle to get in shape. Further– I won’t get off topic here but — YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AND FUTURE CAN CHANGE when your hormones are balanced– WHY NOT PURSUE THAT? I look and feel better at age 52 than I did at age 32…..if that’s not an argument for anti-aging I don’t know what is. So- to summarize my history- as briefly as possible, my body started changing around age 40. At that time I began to gain weight while not changing anything with my diet and exercise. I was training with a trainer and he thought I might be pregnant because my boobs got so big. Still, it took years for me to even THINK of hormones. I just kept pushing and pushing, dieting harder and working out harder. (one of the major mistakes most women make) I sought out every secret diet that might work. I never stopped dieting. For the past 10 years I kept pushing and going and going…..harder and harder. 

    I never really made progress. 

    Aside from a few windows of success: after doing a round of the HCG Diet- and following that up with some ill-advised direction to dive right in to Faster Way to Fat Loss without any reverse dieting out of HCG …followed by a HORRIBLE experience with a horrible dietitian who helped me gain a bunch of weight…..let’s just say the most recent 5 years or so have been the most miserable for me. I’ve lived in black baggy clothes, I’ve dieted my A&& off and….nothing worked. 

    UNTIL THIS YEAR. Actually – it was last summer that I took the first steps toward my new future, but I did not know it at the time. 

     

    I do think it’s important to mention here. After 10+ years of nonstop dieting and overtraining I listened to Alex Mazzurco, hired her as my trainer and committed to doing a reverse diet to heal myself. I did a reverse diet for almost a year. I fired my last functional medicine doctor who was not getting me results. In October I hired a female functional medicine doctor– Dr. Ruthie Harper in Austin TX- and started working with her. From our first consult I KNEW she’d heal me. She told me I had to work MOST on my insulin resistance, not my hypothyroid issues. That was an eye opener: I think far too many women focus way too much on hypothyroid issues as the reason why we can’t lose weight. Dr. Harper said the primary reason I wasn’t losing fat was insulin not thyroid. When April/May of this year hit and she told me I was finally well enough to diet again and she gave me my macros– and it was basically keto….I freaked out a bit. Well, a lot. I was the most skeptical person on the planet about the keto diet. SPOILER ALERT: The secret to losing weight after 50 for most women is keto. That’s right. Keto + Fasting + Exogenous Ketones is the magical combination that has transformed my body and helped me shed 24 inches and 18lbs since June 1st. I am wearing clothes I haven’t worn in YEARS. I am 8lbs from my goal weight. I do a double take in the mirror about every day!!! I walk with a strut now! I haven’t looked this good in over a decade. AND I FEEL GREAT. And guess what else: this is a lifestyle. I don’t feel deprived at all. I drink. I eat food I love. My cravings are virtually gone and I never binge anymore! This has transformed my LIFE!! I never ever would have expected all of this from just going keto but heck if I knew this I would have done it 3 years ago!!!! I’m so passionate about sharing this — I’m becoming a certified keto coach — so I can help more women aged 40+ with hormone issues lose the weight-  THIS IS THE SOLUTION. I’m telling you. Keto + Fasting + Exogenous Ketones will change your life– it changed mine. My husband stops me at least once a day somewhere in our house and will remark about how much my body has transformed. I have to buy new clothes all the time because I’m losing pounds/inches….it’s amazing. 

    Who would have thought something so simple was the answer— but when you think about it— if INSULIN RESISTANCE is the key- then keto really is the thing that automatically removes all the foods that cause insulin response. It removes what causes cravings. It removes what causes binges. It’s transformative more than you know. I’d love to know what this post did for you– what questions you have and how I can help? Are you ready to take the leap?? 

    But WAIT, There's MORE!

    BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

    If you found this blog post helpful, you will probably enjoy these podcasts and videos and other blog posts below. And if you think these might be helpful to a friend or family member, I’d love it if you’d share this post with them– spread the love! Thank you in advance! “My Keto Diet Results” CLICK HERE to read. “How to Balance Hormones to Lose Weight” CLICK HERE to Listen. “Kiss Hormonal Weight Gain Goodbye” CLICK HERE to watch. 

    Subscribe to my newsletter so you don't miss a thing!

    * indicates required
    Email Format

    READ MORE...

  • Fitness, Personal Blog, Transformation, WEIGHT LOSS

    75 Hard Challenge: Not For Me. Why I’m going with #65MODIFIED instead!

    Why I said NO to the 75 Hard Challenge.

    A friend of mine challenged me recently to join her on the 75 Hard Challenge. I’ve heard of it and looked it up again and decided– although I was so tempted– I decided not to do the 75 Hard Challenge but to make my own close enough version – #65modified. So for those of you going for it and taking on the 75 Hard Challenge, snaps to you, but here is what I’m doing and I invite you to join my version of the 75 Hard Challenge.

    I’m excited. I was looking for a fun way to amp things up the last part of this year. I’ve had such a great whole body transformation so far with my keto results since June 1st and I’m just 9lbs away from my goal weight. I REALLY NEED TO GET BACK TO MY WORKOUT LIFE. This is the perfect thing to get me rolling again. I love challenges now- I used to think they were cheesy but I do love being on program and having the accountability with others. I invite you to join me! 

    75 Hard Challenge

    The great thing about a challenge is it gives you something to follow. Rather than just randomly showing up at the gym and saying “Hmm what will I do today” and then hopping on the same treadmill to do the same lame workout and get the same results, challenges help you get outside of your comfort zone. This is what I need and I think it’s fun and good to do challenges year-round. Let’s roll!

    Pass on 75 Hard Challenge: Yes toMy #65Modified Challenge

    75HARD CHALLENGE RESULTS

    So here is my “65Modified” Challenge. It’s 65 days obviously. I started on October 18th- you can start whenever you want! The focus is: 

    1) Drink More Water. I have been HORRIBLE about hydration lately and it’s been showing up in headaches. I’m no longer allowing myself to sneak diet soda during the day. So I’m down with the 75 Hard Challenge idea of a Gallon of water per day. 

    2) 1 45-60 minute workout a day, alternating between weights and cardio. 2 workouts a day for me, after having been in a reverse diet for a year with scaled back training would be a recipe for disaster. Nope. Also giving myself 1 day off a week so aiming for 6 workouts weekly. The 75 Hard Challenge is 2 workouts every day, mine is 1 workout a day for 6 days a week.

    3) EAT MEALS not snacks. And more SALADS. I really plan to focus on more salads. Salads are a lower carb way to get in some greens and I want to aim for that.

    4) Stick to my keto diet. Not gonna be a problem.

    5) Take my supplements and vitamins. I’ve been good about my ketones and my liquid collagen etc. but bad about my vitamins/supplements and I’m getting back to that. THEY ARE IMPORTANT. 6) Take a photo every day. I’m down with that. 7) Measure every week like I was.8) Read 10 pages every morning. I needed to get back to this anyway. I’m down. 9) No cheat meals…I don’t really DO cheat meals anymore but I don’t like the rule of saying no cheat meals so I’m making this a thing. In my keto lifestyle there really aren’t diet times and cheat days so this is unnecessary. 10) Fasting: adding in weekly 24 hour fasts REGULARLY and once a month doing the Pruvit 60-hour reboot. 

    That about sums it up. I’m on day 4 now and have been drinking my water every day (headaches are getting less and less!), taking my supplements 2x a day, getting my workouts in (this week will be 5 vs. 6, gotta be honest!) and I’m on point with my meals vs. snacking! Who wants to join me?

    But Wait, There’s MORE!

    BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

    If you liked this post, I’m guessing you’ll like some of these other recent posts and videos from my YouTube channel as well: WHAT I EAT ON THE KETO DIET and HOW TO STOP SNACKING AT NIGHT. Plus VIDEO: MY KETO TRANSFORMATION.

    AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER

    Note: this blog contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this post and support this channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when a viewer uses the links provided, the view is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support.

    Subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss a thing!

    * indicates required




    Email Format



    READ MORE...

  • Personal Blog, WEIGHT LOSS

    How to Stop Snacking At Night and Start REALLY Losing Weight.

    Want to know how to stop snacking at night?

    Everybody asks the question: how to stop snacking at night? It seems to be this mysterious time of day where so many of us LOSE CONTROL with our diets. If you’ve wondered how to stop snacking at night, I have some answers for you that may surprise you. 

    I used to be a SNACK-A-HOLIC in a big way. I can TOTALLY relate to your struggles. In this post, I will share how to stop snacking at night, and how to stop snacking for the most part, altogether. I’ll put it this way (and I’ll explain in more detail below)– snacking no longer RULES MY LIFE and no longer RUINS MY DIET. 

    And this can be true for you too! 

     

    After reading this blog post, you’ll know how to stop snacking at night and be more successful at your dieting efforts and lose weight. Sound good to you? Let’s go.

    When Snacking Ruled My Life: THE BEFORE PHASE.

    Before I tell you how I stopped snacking, let me give you a crystal clear picture of what my life was like BEFORE. Because then you’ll understand how DIFFERENT my life is now and how significant the impact is of no snacking and no cravings and my appetite being forever changed. 

    For most of my adult life, I was on a diet. Seriously. 

    I was on a diet from the time I moved back home to Columbus Ohio (from Pensacola FL ..that’s a whole hot mess story I’ll tell you another time….why I decided to move to Pensacola when I was ONE QUARTER AWAY FROM GRADUATING FROM college– to chase a boy who could not care less about me) and realized I was the HEAVIEST I’D EVER BEEN. Gulp. That’s what happens when you live in the South and drink every single night and live at Old Country Buffet during the day –eating nothing but. carbs and never working out. 

    So, I started reading up about working out and dieting and that began my FITNESS FANATIC LIFE. I loved it! I started doing step aerobics and eating a fat-free diet and I lost about 20-25lbs. I graduated college, moved to Chicago and started working corporate life. Gained the corporate 10lbs and started working out again. I just went through CYCLES of fitness. 

    But the point is this: I was always dieting. I never really felt that I reached my “goal weight”. I was never happy with my body. Never comfortable in my body. So I was CONSTANTLY DIETING. Always searching for how I could become a BETTER VERSION of me. I was perpetually dissatisfied with myself. 

    I spent an inordinate amount of time online researching blogs and forums to find out how to get more fit. The more I read the more obsessed I became. I thought it was a “healthy obsession. But it clearly wasn’t. 

     

    The more books and magazines I read, the more I looked at food as “good” or “bad”. I thought everyone around me was judging my body the way I was judging my body and therefore I felt they were judging my food choices: paranoia set in. 

    This is when the unhealthy eating behaviors started. I’d binge a lot; go to Burger King drive through and order a Whopper with Cheese and large fries and eat it all and then throw away all the evidence. Then I’d stop at the grocery store and buy Oreos and a bunch of sweets like Pop Tarts and you name it. But I’d add distractions in the cart like chicken breast and vegetables so that the person checking me out would think I was shopping for a family. Yes this is how my mind worked. 

    Then I’d get home and eat the Pop Tarts and Oreos and feel so sick. And then I’d cry and be so depressed. I’d wake up the next day and berate myself mentally all day for what I’d done and then I’d usually give myself permission since I’d “ruined everything” by cheating– to “just go ahead and enjoy the weekend”– and I’d do just that. I’d binge all weekend. And the guilt and shame would build and grow. 

    And then Monday I’d throw out everything in my fridge and start some extreme detox diet that would last 4 days. These cycles were the bane of my existence. I was desperate to get in shape but obsessed with food. I was dieting obsessively and didn’t see that I was creating a situation where I was setting myself up for disaster all the time. 

    The more I denied myself all these foods the more my mind obsessed about them, and then when I would secretly binge on them on an empty stomach, I’d set the chemical reaction in place that happens when you consume carbs/sugary snacks — it’s literally beyond your control. 

    Your cravings are like, not your fault. It’s chemical. Do some research. All those years, I was a walking insulin response. Sounds crazy but now I see it. The harder I worked at dieting, the harder my mind fought it and the more my mind and body pulled me in the other direction toward cheating. And each time I cheated, both the insulin response (crash and burn) and the guilt and shame afterword were enough to put me in a constant state of feeling like a failure. 

    How do you ever WIN when you feel like a loser every day? The truth is, this just seemed to be the way I would always be. I was that person who was always dieting, always unhappy with her body, always thinking about food, always thinking about ways to making fitness food taste like non-fitness food, always bingeing, always eating in secret and then punishing herself for doing so, always being CONTROLLED BY FOOD. I was that person who had an uncomfortable relationship with food. I was that person who said “I can’t be left alone with a bag of Oreos” — you know — that person. That was me, then.

    how to stop snacking at the office

    HOW I STOPPED SNACKING ALL THE TIME AND CONQUERED MY CRAVINGS-- BY GOING KETO.

    The real truth is,I never thought I’d get past this tendency of mine. I never once had a moment where I said to myself “Ok I’m going to work on conquering my cravings and getting in control of my appetite and stopping this whole binge/emotional eating cycle.” What happened was: I changed my way of eating on June 1st (officially, and kind of informally the month before that) by going keto with the direction of my new functional medicine doctor. Shortly after going keto, I experienced fat loss and body transformation (as of the day I am writing this, I am down 24 inches total and 18 LBS) and noticed things had changed in my eating habits without me TRYING TO change them. I wasn’t SNACKING between meals. I wasn’t hanging out in the pantry all the time looking for what sounded good. I wasn’t thinking about how to make some sweet recipe out of protein powder to satisfy my sweet tooth. In fact, I didn’t think about food hardly at all. More often than not, I had to REMIND MYSELF TO EAT. Say what? Yup. When it came to snacking at night, that’s when I noticed a major change. Without TRYING TO, I had stopped snacking at night like I used to. With the exception of occasionally having some almond butter – and not a lot of it – I really didn’t feel the need for food like I used to. And snacking while watching TV used to be a ROUTINE. Like, I could not imagine watching TV and not having snacks. I was routinely buying what I thought were “healthy treats” for Steve and I for TV watching time. I was regularly using TV watching time as an excuse for a “treat” or “dessert”. It was Steve who remarked how much my snacking habits had changed after I went keto– he said “you hardly snack at all anymore”. Now- I attribute this to both going keto AND the regular daily use of exogenous ketones. When you understand how BHB works, you realize that they add a significant layer to the mix with curbing appetite and suppressing hunger– and it’s real. The few days that I have not consumed my ketones are the few days I have found myself thinking “OMG I really want some of that BHU Keto Cookie Dough!!!”– seriously. My husband is not keto and he takes the exogenous ketones 2x a day– and he now no longer eats the sweet protein bars in the afternoon that he used to and he stopped eating the sweets/candy bars he used to at the office– in the first month of adding ketones he lost 4lbs. When I reflect back on my life before vs. now- I think that my diet was so full of way too much processed diet/fake/fitness foods and insulin-response inducing foods — I was constantly in a bad cycle of restriction then binge then insulin response then restriction then binge then insulin response. There was no stability. Too much stress. Too much cortisol. Certainly– lots of other factors at play I’m sure– but, all I know is what I’m doing NOW has transformed my BODY but also my MIND. It is the best feeling EVER to not be controlled and CONSUMED BY thoughts of food!! I still love food. I still love to cook and eat. I still love all the things I loved before but they don’t have the power over me that they did before. That’s a great feeling indeed. That’s one of the priceless benefits of going keto for sure. 

    how to stop snacking after dinner

    BEFORE AND AFTER: MY Life Then and Now and Why I'm SO HAPPY I Made These Changes!

    When I think back to my life before I made the leap and went keto and experienced this amazing transformation, I realize how frazzled and out of control I felt. So much of how I’d describe myself refers to EMOTIONAL states– but I felt out of control, I felt RULED BY food and the desire for food or cravings for food. Everything was about what I was denying myself….and what’s funny or ironic is that when people think about KETO, they think about all the things they can’t have. And for sure, you do cut things out– but maybe – in this case, because I was doing it with my doctor and I was doing it more with a focus on my insulin resistance vs. weight loss (I don’t think I really thought I would lose weight when I started), it was easier for me to just comply. I honestly never felt like this was HARD. And truthfully it just got easier. As of today, I feel like this is my lifestyle. I’m 9lbs away from my goal weight with NO doubt I’ll hit it. Wow never thought I’d hear myself say that!! BEST FEELING EVER! And I’m so passionate about how this works — because I was so stuck for so many years, I’m getting certified as a keto coach! For any of you reading this, if you want some more information and are thinking of trying keto, I have the rough draft of what’s soon to be my eBook “Kelly’s Keto Kwik Start Guide”– everything you need to get started on going keto– all my best tips and links to my favorite products and recipes. Happy to send it to you for free just email kelly at kellyolexa.com! 

    But Wait There's MORE!

    BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

    If you liked this post, you may want to check out some of my other recent posts on my keto journey– like What Can I Eat On Keto CLICK HERE or How Women Can Lose Weight After 40 CLICK HERE or Why I’m Going Full On Keto CLICK HERE. 

    Subscribe to my newsletter so you don't miss a thing!

    * indicates required
    Email Format

    READ MORE...