Hi  Welcome to your weekly wellness tip. Have you noticed that you've gained weight over the last few years and there's stubborn belly fat that just won't budge? You're trying intermittent fasting, you're cutting calories (because eat less move more used to work) and you're upping your movement - but still the weight won't shift. That old school culture of your 30's no longer works for weight loss in midlife. After the age of 40 your reproductive hormones oestrogen and progesterone are fluctuating meaning the old methods can cause your body metabolic chaos. Here's what's actually happening. Starting at age 40 women naturally lose about half a pound of metabolically active muscle every year (this is known as sarcopenia). So when you drastically cut calories, your body no longer thinks let's burn belly fat for energy. Instead it perceives energy resources are scarce and to survive, it goes into fat storing mode and starts burning your remaining muscle as fuel. This leaves you feeling completely exhausted which in turn, reduces your motivation and has you reaching for the quick energy foods like sweet treats and refined white carbs. The cycle goes on and it's incredibly frustrating. Remember: Muscle is your metabolic engine, it burns calories even when you're at rest. To protect your bones, energy and metabolism, your body needs the right building blocks to feel safe enough to release weight. If you feel stuck in this cycle, try two shifts this week: Include protein at every meal - which keeps you satiated, keeps blood sugar levels stable and tells your brain that energy sources are in abundance. Great examples include eggs, greek yoghurt, chicken, fish. Swap the exhausting cardio - if your draining your energy with sweaty cardio sessions all the time, try replacing one of these sessions with intentional resistance training. (If you don't like the gym, bodyweight resistance is perfect to get you started!).  Start to feed your body with strength.  Antonia x