How to Boost Your Metabolism in Midlife the Non-Dieting Way

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What are you waiting for? Good night. It is possible to boost your metabolism in midlife, and it's probably not going to happen from a diet. In fact, everything about a diet will tell your body to burn fewer calories and slow your metabolism and deplete your energy. I don't know that anyone wants to sign up for what I just said. Why do we collectively still resort to eating less? That's going to be a puzzle to solve for all time, but perhaps not for you, because in this episode we talk about a far more uplifting option. And honestly, we review the reality of what eating less really does to your body. My guest is Nagina Abdullah. She's a weight loss coach for women and professionals and founder of the website masalabody.com. She coaches women to boost metabolism naturally and simplifies creating a healthy lifestyle even if they've tried everything. Nagina has a degree in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley and has helped over 1,200 professional women successfully lose weight. And we have a lively conversation here. I cannot wait to to have you listen to this episode and hopefully get a whole new take on what it means to really have what it is that you want. I'm Debra Atkinson. You're listening to Flipping 50, where I address your top struggles and concerns, but most of all, we hope to inspire you so that you expect and demand greater services, better products, made for women in midlife and beyond. I share what to eat, how to move, and how to change your mindset so you can have the energy vitality that you want, need, and deserve in this second and better half. Nagina, thank you so much for being here.

Oh, I'm so excited, Debra, to be here with you.

This is on everybody's mind. So it is January, and there is no denying that No matter what, I think, you know, we always come around to this time of year and we have this fresh start feel. We want to dive in. We want to do things right this year. And so, of course, metabolism comes up and maybe more now in midlife than ever before. But let's talk just a little bit about why, why I suspect that our listeners are past dieting. And one of the reasons is I think we're all grown up now. I think we've learned our lessons. But why is it that diets don't work for us?

Oh my gosh, well, there's so many reasons. And, you know, just because, because so many people have been on diets, you know, we likely know ourselves why we don't want to go on anymore. And the reason is because they, uh, because the reason is because they actually are not sustainable. I mean, what happens is that they, uh, they last for a little bit and you don't really reach your full goal. And then once you do, or if you do, you put it right back on. But in addition to that when you're in midlife, it seems that what was working before no longer works at all anyway. And, and it's so true because when you're undereating or not eating healthy foods, your body actually needs it more and more starting in midlife. Um, you know, they needed it so much more before as well, but your body won't actually give you any results. So we're done with dieting. We really want to learn a natural way to increase our metabolism, something that is natural and sustainable and that will give us longevity instead of making us feel like we are restricting ourselves and actually taking time at, you know, taking life away from ourselves. We want to give us more life.

Amen to that. Let's have a little more of that in 2024.

Okay.

All right, I'm going to ask you right away a question that may back you into a corner. So we did not know we were going to talk about this, or you didn't know, and I, I'm not sure I knew it was going to go in this direction, but I do want to say this kind of on behalf all of my listeners, I think this is a confusing point. And even for me, I can have incongruent and mixed feelings about intermittent fasting. It is so very sexy. I've seen it work for some people, and I have seen other women say, I tried that and it did not work for me. It actually— I was exhausted when I was doing it. And now I think there's a wide continuum of intermittent fasting, and this is why we can get into trouble with just labeling it as this works or this doesn't work, because for some it just means 12 hours overnight, not snacking between meals. And I'd like to think that most of us should be doing that, but oh yes, when we push it to 24, 36, 72 hours a week, you know, I think that's where we sometimes get into trouble. And then We're still holding on to our diet mentality from the '80s after we're in our feeding window. And I mean, that's just backfiring on us. So can you just— what are your feelings and observations about intermittent fasting and where that fits in? And how are we maybe getting it wrong collectively as midlife women?

Oh, what a great question, and I'm just so thankful for the space to discuss this. And I think your question and my answer are going to actually give some unexpected and not as common responses and discussion that, that is out there right now. Um, and, you know, my response is, you know, similar to yours in that, uh, in kind of what you're sharing around— it's, it really is dependent on each person. It's not a blanket type of, uh, type of approach that will work for everyone. Um, and I want to actually share with you that I seen that it doesn't work for more women than it works for. And I've seen specifically because I've coached now over 1,500 women to lose weight by eating the right way and getting their metabolism going. And what I've seen is that when women are overeating, having an intermittent fasting, having an intermittent fasting approach is helpful. And the reason is mostly because it really helps to curb calories. Over the course of the day. It gives a structure and it gives boundaries around when to start eating and when to stop eating. And especially that stopping eating really affects women because, because many times we, we tend to have late-night snacks or late-night cravings due to all the things that we put into our day. And that's like our moment to relax and give back to ourselves. And that's often the time that we end up overeating. But And you may be seeing this as well, Debra. I actually don't see that most women in midlife are overeating because we are, we are, you know, slightly brainwashed by those diets of the '80s, of the '90s, of eating less and exercising more, which come to a screeching halt in midlife. It no longer works. And so if you're not eating enough, what will happen is that you will no longer lose weight. You will just be stuck at the same place.. And so intermittent fasting will create more of that, that, that landscape for someone to eat less than they should if they're already not eating enough. So it really depends on the person. You know, there is a hormonal impact that's been shown for intermittent fasting that can help in many situations. So there's, there's also that piece. But overall, I've seen that it can tend to lean towards women under eating more than they already are and not losing any more weight than they were before.

I totally agree. And I'm gonna send everybody to a YouTube story that I told. And I say a story, so it was literally one of those boring head and shoulders facing the camera, but I shared a story of a client I've worked with for 10 years. And, you know, there's a 100-pound weight loss in there, but there's also some regain in there. And we talk about the what and the why and the struggle mentally to lose habits that we know we have proof they're not working, but it is still so hard to lose them. So for anybody who struggles with this, you're not alone. I think changing our mind and changing our habits is one of the hardest things as humans that we, we do. Intelligent women, there's nothing wrong with you. It's not your motivation, it's not your discipline, it's just this internal incongruence of a belief that we've had for years, for decades, we're probably not going to change as quickly as we would like to see results, you know, which is yesterday's yesterday. So yeah, thank you so much for sharing that. Okay, so talk a little bit about— I mean, you, you speak to how, uh, how to like the foods or eat the foods that you love and still burn fat, but you talk about it very specifically by adding by pairing and by timing these metabolism-boosting foods. So, I mean, you had me at eat the food you love. Okay, so let's then dive into what do you mean by adding metabolism-boosting foods? And are you talking about cayenne and cinnamon, or what are we talking about here?

Okay, absolutely.

That—

those are definitely part of it. And I'd love to share some spices that really get metabolism going. And, you know, overall, you know, really shifting from that diet mentality to boosting and increasing our metabolism is a, a permanent sustainable lifestyle change that focuses on eating the right foods in the right amounts to naturally get your calorie burning going. And naturally, you're using the energy from your food in a more efficient way, and you're burning fat instead of holding on to fat. And that's why focusing on metabolism is so important, and it really comes to, to the— to so much importance in midlife. And so the first thing is, you know, eating the foods you love. This is so key. Now, I personally lost 40 pounds after a lifetime of struggling and trying all the diets that, you know, many of us have tried, from Weight Watchers to Atkins to eating less and just exercising so much. And nothing really worked until I started adding metabolism-boosting foods, pairing them, timing them. But the first step that I took was to, to, to make sure that I loved what I was eating, because I had learned that when I had tried all of those diets, I couldn't keep it up because I just didn't want that food after a while. Like, I could do it for 2 weeks or a month or sometimes even more than that, but at some point I would say, I'm sick and tired of this and I want to go back to the foods that I love. And a lot of times that would mean chocolates, and it would mean pizza, and it would mean pastas and heavy foods. Because that's what I was depriving myself of. And so when I started realizing— I was in a phase where I decided I really want to find the real way to lose weight. I want to get my metabolism going. I started researching some of the information I had access to because I have a degree in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley. And so I started reviewing that information and started seeing that there's actually foods that you can add to your diet that that help you stay full. And there's also ways that you can flavor your food that make, that make your metabolism increase. And so a couple of ways to increase your metabolism by eating food you love is instead of going for those heavy foods is to start looking for spices to flavor your foods, which are not necessarily spicy. So one of my best examples and one of the things I started with is adding cinnamon to my coffee. And adding cinnamon to my coffee gave me that sweetness, and it actually helped to balance my blood sugar and helped me burn less fat. And that's the effect of cinnamon. It helped me burn more fat and store less fat. I'm sorry. And so, so cinnamon is a really, really great one to start with, and it tastes so good that you start loving what you're having without the sugar. So I would replace the sugar in my coffee with cinnamon and have a low-sugar or no-sugar sweetener, creamer, like almond milk or like, you know, anything like that that would help me get off of the sugar. And, and so I started to love my coffee. And, and as part of that, because I didn't have the sugar in my coffee, I didn't have sugar cravings that result from when you give yourself sugar. When you give yourself some sugar, it makes you crave more sugar. So if you can replace some of that with other foods that you love, it's going to be a kind of a, it's it's going to be a downward, a downward journey instead of like something that you feel like you're trudging uphill. Um, so some of the foods I love, you know, some of the things are spices, using spices like cinnamon, using turmeric, which is a spice that is very mild in flavor and it's actually anti-inflammatory. So you help to reduce puffiness, you help to improve your joint health. Um, you also reduce bloating. And you can use turmeric, a half teaspoon in your eggs, or you can use a half teaspoon in your protein shake after you come back from the gym, if you're having a protein shake, because it helps you relax your muscles.

Yeah, and I love pairing that with ginger, like just a little, just a little bite. Yum.

Yeah. Yes, oh my gosh. And that's so amazing. And ginger is so great for digestion also, like moving food through your body, which is often why ginger is like in a tea sometimes. Like there's often a ginger tea or something post-dinner because, because of these natural qualities that these, that these spices and these herbs have. So, so using spices as a way to, to love your foods and adding them into your vegetables, you know, we all know we're supposed to eat vegetables, but one of the challenges with eating more vegetables for many people is that they want it to taste better. And so using spices like cumin, which is actually, uh, really great for reducing belly fat coriander, which is great for reducing water retention or bloating, and adding— just sprinkling that onto your vegetables, putting it into the oven on a sheet pan for 15 minutes, sprinkle a little bit of olive oil, and then you have veggies for multiple days that taste so good. And so the thing about loving what you're eating is it's so important to love what you're eating, to have— to enjoy the journey, because once you get there, you want to continue doing the similar practices, even if it's not exactly the same, instead of going and reversing back to all the unhealthy things because you're, you're sick of the, of what you were eating on the journey. So that's really important right there.

That is a really, that's an important mic drop probably right there. Will you say that again? Just rephrase it because I think this can easily go through somebody's head and, you know, we We really start these things out thinking we want to be healthier, but we forget sometimes that along the way, if, if the means of getting there is not healthy, or that the potential result on us, the impact, is not healthy, we forget the long-term effect.

Absolutely. That is so true. And so, yes, so, and this is the thing, a lot of times when we're ready to lose weight, we feel like we have to work so hard and we have to hurry up and get there, when actually what what that creates is, is a quick burnout. And so instead of saying, I want to deprive myself and I want to restrict myself— where— think about where that has led you before. And I know it's led me to not wanting to do all the things that were helping me slim down and helping me— what I thought was raising my metabolism, it was something that I just wanted to be done with. So it's more of like, uh, like thinking about how can you get healthier in a sustainable way. And if you enjoy it and you really put a lot of importance on enjoying the journey, then you'll be able to stay at your goal once you get there. Because once you get to your goal, you don't want to reverse back and change everything you're doing. You want to keep up with most of what you're doing because you were creating a lifestyle versus going on a diet. And really enjoying the taste of your food is one of the top ways to to be able to have this be a long, sustainable lifestyle.

So much goodness in that. So let's talk about this. I think it was Jonathan Baylor in his book, and I'm going to— Smarter Science of Slim or something close to that. It's been probably a decade or so, but I think it was him who first said this, and I've said it every day since, probably. But The message that when we eat less, we're really messaging our body to burn less. That, that will be its response. And when we eat more, we message the body to burn more. So if we talk about extremes, it's kind of like, well, Thanksgiving dinner is like that. We're eating more. Everybody's experienced that. You know, we open up the windows after dinner, we open up the door because everybody's hot. Because we're, we're already— our bodies are trying to burn off that excess caloric intake that we've had. But it's, you know, we return to homeostasis pretty easily. It's, you know, where we get into trouble is instead of thinking, okay, it was a day, we enjoyed it, we indulged, and go back on to normal, we eat, continue eating for the next 5 weeks. That's kind of where we get it wrong. But the opposite is true too. Like, if we We've— we almost treat that like binge and purge, you know, for somebody who then gets really restrictive because, oh no, I was bad, using that kind of language, and then really pulling back and disproving. Now we've actually shut down your ability to burn off those excess calories. So it truly backfires on us. Why is it that our minds keep defaulting to that though? You, you know, kickstarts or, you know, some kind of a, I want a little kickstart. People will say that. Why do we keep defaulting to thinking, well, that'll help me feel like I've got an edge and a good start?

Yeah. And I think that there's just, you know, not a lot of conversation around alternatives. And that's what we know. That's what all of the big weight loss companies are teaching. You know, we even have Ozempic teaching basically the same thing, which is let's hurry up and take a pill and take care aware of this, where we're all seeing that when you're— when someone is off Ozempic, they put the weight back on. And so this is just the conversation out there is based on quick results, um, you know, money that can be made from teaching, like, belief, helping people believe, or, or falsely having people believe that they can lose the weight, but they don't— they don't— they don't focus on the keeping it off. And so that's where the other parts of this lifestyle really come into play, which is the adding and pairing and timing of foods you love, because it's also around— boosting your metabolism is around learning how to eat. And we just were not taught how to eat. We've just been taught how to diet or how to, how to just have to face our American public, which is full of fast food and full of multiple unhealthy choices out there. So when you learn how to eat, you start learning that, first of all, you know, you can, you can have foods you love. You can use these levers that we've talked about a little bit to to, to help you with the foods you've loved. But then you can start to focus on a few tricks that will do things that will keep— that will get your metabolism really high. And one of those key things is adding not just any foods, but adding specifically more protein to your diet. And when you're adding more protein, then what happens is that protein digests more slowly than most other foods, and it keeps full and satiated for longer. So for those of us that feel that we have almost uncontrollable cravings or that we can eat and we're hungry right away, that is most likely because you're not adding the right amounts of, right amounts of protein, and then you're not pairing it with other foods that are also complementing protein to help you feel full. And these are things like what I call tasty veggies. So veggies that are flavored with spices that boost your metabolism even more. Or pairing your protein and veggies also with a healthy carb, which means a slow-burning carbohydrate that doesn't quickly burn, but something that more slowly burns so that it gives you energy for a long time. And then you don't have— you're not as hungry right away for more food. You're just, you're fine. You're taken care of. And also having some healthy fats in there. And healthy fats are important. You know, many of us who have, who have been through dieting in the past all, you know, have been through no-fat or low-fat diets. And, you know, fat is something that we need in our diet. It's important for our hair. It's important for our skin. It's important for us to feel satiated and feel, feel good. But we want to have it in the right amounts as well so that when you're eating healthy fats, you know that you're eating the right amount for your body to have a high metabolism. So, you know, this conversation of how to eat is just something that you know, needs to be talked about more because you can have delicious foods that taste like you're at a restaurant that were so easy to make. It's not even complicated. But when you pair them together and you have the right amounts of these foods on your plate, you will feel so good and your metabolism will just skyrocket. And what happens is you start burning fat. And, you know, I'll share more about this later. But I mean, this, this is such a big conversation that I'm actually having a 7-day conference on it. Coming up in about a week around boosting your metabolism midlife through these ways, because focusing on metabolism and not calorie cutting and dieting and restriction is the way forward, and especially the most effective way in midlife when our bodies are very sensitive to diets and it's not working for diets anymore.

And, you know, I have to tell you this. So, you know, I am 42 years into a healthy life. I'm a 40-year fitness professional. But even just listening to you speak about the whole idea of sitting down to a plate of food and learning how to eat, you know, there is a certain calm that comes over you. There's a certain motivation that is there when it is not there if you're thinking about starting this diet or intermittent fasting. And then I got to tell you, I'm a reluctant intermittent faster. As much as I believe in the longevity and the autophagy and that, that it is very helpful, you know, I probably do the minimum. And I have been kind of minimum— I've been reserved in using it with clients until we're at a certain point and we've done everything else, you know, because I think a lot of women who I work with over 50 still have the mentality of the '80s where we were flirting with the, you know, starving and, and binging and the, the whole image, body image thing really became an issue. And I think a lot of women still carry that with them. It's, it's difficult to get those thoughts out of our system. Yeah. So I love the way it feels, the way it sits. You know, when we're talking about how to and what to add rather than subtraction, taking it away.

Yeah, absolutely. Yes, thank you so much. And that's the thing is also the mindset that you're mentioning is so important and really overcoming the mindset of thinking that we, we have to restrict and we have to hate the journey and we have to work so hard is really— and it's not, it's not necessary to feel like that. It is completely completely, um, it's, it's completely, um, possible to live in the body that you love, to live in the body of your dreams, and feel great every day and eat the food that you want. In fact, have to eat more than you ever were eating before, because that's what it feels like when you're adding these proteins, when you're adding these, um, tasty veggies with things like cumin and coriander and cayenne, um, you're adding really delicious carbs and healthy fats. You feel so full and satiated that, that, you know, many of my clients— and this is what I felt when I was losing the weight— was, you know, feel that, oh my gosh, I'm eating so much, I'm eating more than I ever have. And the thing is, when you learn to eat these foods, they're so high in fiber, they're so high in protein, they are low in sodium, they're low in sugar, um, and they're— what they do is they, they keep you very full. But when you actually look at the calories of these foods, it's surprising that they are considerably low. But you feel like you're eating so much because you are eating the right combination of nutrients. You're eating nutrient-dense foods, so you're not feeling hungry and you don't want to eat more calories than your body really needs. And that's how this all comes together, you know. That's— you're eating the right portions, you're eating foods in the right calories, but you're so full because you're eating real foods that are keeping you full. And that— in that way, you're not craving sugar. You're not looking to end this way of eating so you can hurry up and eat all the foods you love because you love this way of eating and it truly becomes a lifestyle. So, so yeah, this is, this is just something that is about, like I said, you know, learning to eat. And this is how we get our metabolism high by, by learning these concepts that are scientifically backed as well.

I so love that, and, and it's so uplifting, you know. And I think that's what we, we sometimes negate when we start a diet and we think, you know, on the other end of this, you know, terrible thing where I'm gonna feel miserable, I'm gonna feel good, which is such a myth. How could that ever be possible? Like, like, I'm gonna close the door on this diet and then after that I'll start feeling good. But neither will you feel good energetic, but you won't necessarily feel good about yourself. In my experience, people who have lost considerable amounts of weight definitely by cutting back on calories or deprivation, they are running from fear of regaining that weight constantly. Mm-hmm. Yes.

Never actually arrive. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you're, you're in fear. Yes. Well, Yeah. And I love how you shared that about, you know, that, that kind of like that negative way of thinking also is that's what we're— that's what doesn't work because this isn't only about transactional actions in terms of eating the right amount of calories. It's so important to enjoy this, to, to feel positive about this journey. And that's why adding foods is a core concept in boosting metabolism because it's positive to add. And it's negative to take away. And naturally, when you add foods like I was talking about, adding cinnamon, adding turmeric, adding proteins, adding tasty veggies, you're focused on adding. You naturally want less of those foods that are actually slowing your metabolism, the higher sugar foods, for example. And it's— but it comes all from a place of adding. And then you naturally are not even— are not even craving those other foods anymore. And so it's a very positive mindset. And it's— the mindset is really the key. That keeps you moving, that keeps you moving forward and being able to continue this as a lifestyle.

I so love it. Okay, so without giving it away, as we come to a close, I, I'm sure everybody is curious about this because this is, this is not the conversation typically had about metabolism. It's— I mean, we, we often talk about the science and we're, we're talking scientifically based for sure, but you really So you're a breath of fresh air. That's what you are. So it's, it's very uplifting. And I think at this time of year particularly, it's very important. So if you're listening to this right before spring or summer, it's also a perfect time. But just tease a little bit about some of the experts maybe who'll be joining you in your 7-day conference. And oh, okay, I've got a link. We'll put that in the show notes for all of you, so it will be there. But can you just share just a bit?

Oh, absolutely. So I'm so excited about this, this conference, and it is a 7-day Boost Your Metabolism in Midlife conference. It's the Midlife Woman Series to Boost Metabolism, Balance Hormones, and Burn Fat. And one of our first speakers is absolutely amazing, and that's you, Debra. And Debra's going to be talking about—

when— didn't even pay her to say that.

Well, our conversation was just so, so valuable, and I really urge everybody to watch it because we really talk about some, some more science from a fitness side. And we talk about transitioning to a stronger body in midlife. I also have Dr. Marisa Snyder on who's going to be talking about metabolic and hormone secrets after 40 and beyond. We're talking to Esther Blum about 3 important insights midlife women don't know about menopause.. We're talking to Dr. Keesha Ewers. We're talking to Dr. Amy Day about how to avoid getting blindsided by perimenopause, and so many others. Well, we have 21 speakers, and everybody is speaking in so much depth and giving so much valuable insight. And so we're so excited about this event.

That, that is a great lineup. So many of my favorites. So perfect. We are, again, we'll put the link in the show notes for today, everybody, and we'll be sharing that on social too. So when this podcast comes out, it's definitely a jump into this. And here's what I would say. Every one of us who is a woman in midlife knows another woman in midlife or 3 or 5, some of which who are always trying to lose weight or, you know, still chasing the 5 or the 10 pounds, you know, so help them out. And I would highly encourage you, no more. Let's just make a pact that no more in 2024 do we jump into these summits or conferences or online events ourselves and just feel buried and swamped in content, do it with a friend and then agree to get together in a phone call or in person and go for a walk and talk about some of your favorites. Either she watches some that you don't and then you swap, or you're watching something together and then discussing it. We'll get far more out of it. And I think the real benefit is not necessarily being persuaded or going to feel like now I'm even more confused, but to go to be informed to then make your own decisions. Information is still a good thing, even if it's slightly conflicting something that you just heard. Let yourself get curious, not mad by that. And if we can all agree on that, I think 2024 will be a great year for us to take control of information in the way we want to use for our own benefit. Nagini, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me, Debra. Okay, everybody, so if there's a question I should have asked, let me know. I think we hit on so many good points about kind of warming up to the idea of metabolism in a very different way, shedding a very different light and energy on it. So for show notes today where you can learn more, connect with Nagina and get information about the 7-day summit and how you can get access to it for you and for a friend. You can find the show notes at flippin50.com/boostyourmetabolisminmidlife. And what are you waiting for? Let's get this year started.