23. The Truth About Diets, Weight Loss and Wanting to be Skinny with Adda Ramos

When Ada Ramos found me on Instagram, our shared experiences as Dominican mothers navigating our a health journeys brought us together. Together, we break down the tangled web of diet, quick fixes, and the desire to be skinny and reveal the holistic path to true health. Our conversation moves beyond the scale, diving into the cultural fixation on thinness and the vital shift toward understanding our bodies' unique needs. Adda's story, from seeking rapid weight loss solutions to discovering the importance of a balanced approach, underscores the essential message: transformative health is about so much more than dropping pounds.

Our conversation took an enlightening turn as we addressed the often overlooked aspects of maintaining health, like the role of strength training and the challenges of hormonal shifts during perimenopause. Personal anecdotes brought to life the importance of being informed and proactive about our well-being. We explored the ingenious help continuous glucose monitors offer for tracking health, the role of menstrual cycle tracking, and the critical perspective on managing insulin resistance. The journey toward health is intricate, and we're peeling back the layers to equip you with the wisdom to navigate it.

Lastly, Ada and I discussed the broader implications of health knowledge, drawing parallels between wellness and wealth. As I advocate for the education that enables us to forge healthier futures for our families, Ada's insights remind us that this journey doesn't end with us; it's about passing down a legacy of well-being. So tune in, and let's transform not just our bodies but the wealth of health knowledge for generations to come.
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About Adda
Adda is a Metabolic Health Practitioner, certified personal trainer and certified nutrition coach. She has reversed several medical conditions, like diabetes, with lifestyle changes.

Connect with Add on Instagram.
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Instagram Posts Discussed in Episode
Before and After
New York Times Article

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Transcript

Naihomy: 0:09

Welcome to the Wealthy Generation Podcast. I am your host, naomi Jerez, your Bronx race, dominicana wife, mother of two new BFF and food and holistic health coach. I went from living a surface level healthy life to learning firsthand how to live my best life, rooted in wellness, and get my status back. Whether you're a wellness enthusiast, a food lover or simply curious about creating a healthier, more vibrant life, this podcast is your guide. We're going to dive deep into topics that will inspire you to make positive changes and elevate not only your well-being but those of generations before and after you. Stay tuned for exciting conversations, expert interviews and a whole lot of inspiration that will lead to action. Welcome to the Wealthy, wellthy Generation Podcast with me, your host, naomi Jerez. Hello friends, welcome back to the Wealthy Generation Podcast. That is Wealthy WELLTHY. I'm sure you're never going to get sick of me spelling that out.

Naihomy: 1:25

How the hell we can get. Yes, if you hear somebody laughing, it's because today I have a very special guest. Her name is Ada Ramos. She is also well, I'll let her introduce herself, but I'm really excited that she's here. She reached out to me. She was like I want to be on your podcast because something I posted triggered her. So, ada, introduce yourself.

Adda: 1:47

Yeah, yes, well, the magic of social media. Social media gets so much hate these days, but if there's something positive about it is that it connects people, because had it not been for Instagram, I would not know who Naomi is.

Naihomy: 2:01

Yeah, because you're aware.

Adda: 2:03

I'm in Tiampa, florida, and I'm in New York. Yes, but then I don't know how you came up with my feed or if it was that we follow someone mutual. I honestly cannot remember. But the thing is, once we got introduced, once I met you on Instagram and started seeing your story, I'm like, dude, you and I have a lot in common. Yeah, I was like so surprised. You know, we're both Dominican. Are you still living in New York?

Adda: 2:29

We started our transformation relatively around the same time. I was in 2015. I think yours was in 2016. And you know, I'm a mom of two, your mom of two. You know what else that? Our transformations, you know, in our philosophies, and it just I'm like, wow, I wouldn't need to connect. So I reached out to you and that's how we connected and I've been following you ever since. And then this was this post on Instagram that you posted about your before and after, I think when you first started, or when you had your first transformation in 2016,. And then today, and you were like what is wrong with this picture? And I and or why? What do you? What's the first thing that pops out of the picture? You know, you can obviously see that it's been a change in body composition. So, and then I read the story, I'm like, oh dude, no, no, no, no, this is some. These warrants a life. These warrants a podcast. These warrants way more information than just a post.

Naihomy: 3:30

Yes, oh my gosh. We were supposed to do Instagram live at the same time, but we'll do it again next time.

Adda: 3:35

Are you sure we it's never too late, we can restart this, but anyway, up to you. So, yes, so I reached out to him like we have to talk about. This is something that I'm very passionate about, because working with people, you realize that is very common. You know, and well, first of all, who am I? You know, you know me, but your audience is not knowing me.

Adda: 3:58

So this is how. This is why we're talking about this. But before we move forward, let me just say who I am. You know who's who's this person that Naomi's speaking to. So my name is Ada Ramos. I am a one. This consult consultants. I am a mentor.

Adda: 4:12

That's what I'm actually what I like to call myself, and my journey started in 2016, no 2015, doing what I've done the rest of my you know the previous two decades which is looking for that magic peel, looking for the easy way out, looking for the next shiny object. So I remember my sister losing a lot of weight. I'm like what the hell are you doing? Tell me. It's like, oh, I'm taking these pills. So sum me up. So I started taking appetizer presence and, of course you take appetizer presence, your appetite goes away. Guess what happens? You lose weight. So I lost, like I want to say, like 30 pounds, like really, really quickly. So I was really excited. I was 2015. I was like don't the search. I was about to be 35. So I wanted to like, really look good for my 35th birthday. So I hop on board, pretty much start myself, lost a lot of weight. Of course, felt like super excited because that's what I wanted Like the following year 2016, at 36, I had a hysterectomy and that put me out of commission for a while while I was recuperating from that surgery and I gained pretty much all the way back.

Adda: 5:24

Then, 2017, I get hop on board for the latest shiny diet and we all know about it because it's still very popular to this day. What is it? Keto diet? So I started the keto diet. I enrolled in this six week challenge at a gym, so it was like hardcore boot camps 30 minutes of hopping and puffing, not being able to breathe, coming out of there like death, which I love. I love because it fed my ego. So I love the supper workouts. But then the diet that they were endorsing was the Keto diet. First of all, no one teaches you about the keto diet, just tell you to stop eating carbs and that's it.

Adda: 6:08

So here I am, busting my life at the gym. I mean, I was working out a lot, every single day, six times a week, and this is no joke workouts While I was not eating carbohydrates. What do you think happened to me, guys? I was falling asleep. I read it. Yeah, I mean talk about it. I mean talk about feeling crappy, yes. And then my conscious self said I love this. There's something wrong with this. You know. This is not right. I'm glad. So I started reading about this diet and, naomi, it changed my life. It changed my life because I had no idea about nutrition. My knowledge of nutrition was you start for yourself and you work yourself to death at the gym, and that's how you lose the weight, and you lose it quickly, by the way. Yeah, that's.

Naihomy: 7:09

That is exactly what I had in mind. Like in my twenties, I tried pills and none of it lasted too long, because the pills gave me really bad heart palpitations and I was like, and I would feel my heart in my throat and I was like, oh, that doesn't feel good. And then I tried juicing, but I refused to buy the juices because I was like this is too expensive, I can make the juices myself. Oh my gosh, so much work. And then I felt like crap because all I was drinking these juices and I was like, nope, like I'm just going to let these things go bad, we're not doing this either. I never lasted very long at anything. Yeah, my, I just my body, I guess, knew better.

Naihomy: 7:57

I was not willing to feel crappy Because I see exactly how you feel when you're doing these extreme diets.

Adda: 8:05

Yes, yes, my opinion from my experience is that not all of us come from that mindset you have that to your advantage, that you value feeling good, and I know that about you and it sounds like it's something that you've always valued. It's not just your transformation and your knowledge.

Naihomy: 8:26

No, no, because even in college, when people went like other students, they would break night because they were working on their projects or whatever. I was like I don't know how y'all do this. I don't like breaking night because then I feel like crap. So I'm going to go to sleep by latest 1am. I'm like if at midnight I haven't finished what I'm going to finish, then that's it and I would go to sleep and I would just rather wake up early the next day. And then all my other friends were walking around like zombies, compared how bad they were feeling and I'm like I'm feeling fine.

Adda: 9:00

You see, I was in that person. I was the seeker of of at the moment. I wanted to enjoy the moments, but that's because of my background. I was caged as a child, so once I broke free, it was like catch me if you can. So I had a lot of catching up to do. So I just wanted to leave the moments to like. The consequences will just deal with it later.

Adda: 9:19

So I had no awareness of what I was doing and zero awareness of what I was doing to my body. But anyway so. But at this point I'm already 36. You know, I hope that at some point in our lives we have that awakening of wait a minute, let me try to do this responsibly. So I felt like, first of all, eating all of this fat did not sound healthy to me, because, even though I had zero knowledge of nutrition at that point, you do hear and I mean I've been in medical fields since I was in high school so you hear about heart disease and fat makes you fat, in fact, you know, clocks your arteries. I'm like, okay, at this point I'm not willing to sacrifice health in order to look skinny Up. To that point I was very much willing to do whatever it took, with no regard of what I was doing to my body. I just wanted to be as small as possible, as small as possible the scale lowest number in your genes.

Adda: 10:21

And I had no idea. I had no idea that that number of the scale could come from 20 different places. Well, we're going to get that. We're going to get to that later. But at that point I'm like okay, and I'm so thankful to God that I had that awareness that listen this, just look this up, you know, be more responsible. So I started research specifically about the diet to begin with, and that just opened up a different world for me. Until this day, I am obsessed with all things nutrition and metabolism, and that's why I do what I do now. Thanks to that experience, did I quit keto? No, I didn't. I just learned about it. I fell in love after I learned how to do it properly. It changed my life completely, totally changed my life completely to the point where it got rid of so many medical conditions that I'm like okay, this is no longer about looking skinny. I feel so freaking awesome.

Naihomy: 11:13

Yes.

Adda: 11:14

That I no longer care about how I look. I mean, I was able to reverse diabetes, which, by the way, I discovered I was. Once I started this journey, I was on two different injections for migraines. I was taking four different medications for chronic joint and muscle pain, but was able to drop all medications. Mood disorders, mood disorders, anxiety, depression, y'all hear that, y'all hear that.

Naihomy: 11:38

Take notes, continue. I just so, even though.

Adda: 11:41

I did start the journey for weight loss. Once I started understanding nutrition and the power of nutrition to actually make you feel good, my life forever changed.

Adda: 11:53

And that's what I also wish for people that I was telling you offline that 90% of the clients that come to me come to me for weight loss, even though they know I'm a health coach. I'm not a weight loss coach. I'm a health coach but they come to me for weight loss. But once you realize and once you start going through that process of getting healthier, weight loss really does come as a second bonus.

Naihomy: 12:16

It's a side effect. Side effect. It's a side effect in getting healthy.

Adda: 12:19

Yes, and I know it's a difficult thing to grasp, particularly in our culture, and I mean, I hate to stereotype. That has been my experience with myself, with my siblings, with my family members, with the people that I work with. We're just observing the Latino community. It's like we are obsessed with being small.

Naihomy: 12:40

Yeah, or at least a small waste and being as skinny as possible.

Adda: 12:47

So once I understood nutrition, that's when the light switch flipped. So that's why I'm so passionate about teaching nutrition. I am not about giving you a list of to-do lists, do's and don'ts. I need you to understand how the body works, because then the dog might go so out the door. There's no camps, there's no low carb camp, there's no carnivore camp, there's no vegan camps, there's no plant based camps, there's no paleo camp, there's no nothing.

Naihomy: 13:17

Yes.

Adda: 13:18

You understand physiology, you understand how your body works, and then you understand your own metabolic health at this moment in time. And then you add your goals to that what is your goal? And then you can tailor a plan that's going to work for you and this is why we came to. Instagram Besties Because that's exactly what I did?

Adda: 13:38

We just got it, we got it and it took us a lot of suffering. It took me a lot of suffering because now and this is actually the point, the middle of the conversation once you go through the first transformations, what happens five years later?

Naihomy: 13:55

Your body changes.

Adda: 13:56

You know, and I saw these fights before and after pictures you will never see me advertising before and after pictures. They teach you nothing.

Naihomy: 14:11

Unless you have a story behind them.

Adda: 14:14

Yes, and the story is, who you are today is not who you're going to be five years from today. Yes, and how you got to that first transformation will dictate if that transformation will still be the same five years later. And that's what I really want to dig deep in this conversation so we can have realistic expectations, because we do enroll in these programs and, believe me, I mean, the body just needs a stressor. The body just needs a stimulus and it will give you change. So you will change. With whatever protocol you do, you will change because it's a stressor, something new. But the body is also so very much adaptable. Give the body a stimulus for a certain amount of time and it will adapt. Yeah, and then what? It won't work anymore, and then what? So what do you do?

Adda: 15:04

If my understanding of this thing called weight loss is just eat less and move more I haven't been moving a lot, so I move more the body will respond and you will see that on the scale. And then I exercise. That will contribute to an additional stress. So the body will continue to respond, but very quickly the body will say I need to become efficient at doing this thing that she's been doing for the last six months, because I'm already, I got caught up, I'm I caught up with her is no longer a stressor. So then you see the infamous plateau, the plateau. So and then the first thought typically is what am I doing wrong?

Naihomy: 15:58

Yes, that is the very first question, you know. You know what's the most important part of everything that you're saying that it turns into this shame storm in the person's head. But you know why?

Adda: 16:14

Why? Because that's what we've been taught.

Naihomy: 16:17

Oh, no, yes.

Adda: 16:20

The formula is so easy just eat less and move more.

Naihomy: 16:24

I thought you were going to tell me something new.

Adda: 16:27

No, but if you do that and it stops, then there must be something wrong with you, because if that is the formula, I must be doing something wrong.

Naihomy: 16:35

But you know what, exactly what you're saying? There's no education, like, nobody teaches you how to do these things. We learn it from the media, we learn it from marketing. We learn it from seeing generations before us through the same thing. So I think that the biggest of the service is that there's lack of information, there's lack of education of like, how it actually like, exactly what we're here to talk about, how it actually looks, how it actually works, instead of falling in these almost traps of basically wanting to make money off of your insecurities or off of you know, like you wanting to get a quick change, which you can, but at what cost?

Adda: 17:23

Exactly, you know, that is exactly the point I want to send home. At what cost? At what cost? Yeah, I keep telling my clients this and everybody write this down you do not want to lose weight at the cost of losing muscle. Yeah, period Set done. We can shut this down now and when we embark in these challenges eight week challenges, 12 week challenges, these juicing protocols, the cabbage soup diet, you know when you embark in these things and you do see that number on the scale drop.

Adda: 18:06

It is very motivating as get it. It is so motivating. We are human beings and we want instant gratification. We seek instant gratification.

Naihomy: 18:18

We've learned how to do that in this day and age. Yes, and it gets worse by the minutes Everything gets up.

Adda: 18:25

I mean just the swiping on our phones. You know, if a post is not a real, it doesn't catch your attention. In two seconds You're forgettable.

Naihomy: 18:34

Like think about it, I mean before you had to wait for gratification, because even if you took photos, you had to go get them developed and you had to wait three days to then go see them. Like everything just took time and you learned that patience, Like you had to stand in line for things and you couldn't get things delivered in two days.

Naihomy: 18:54

Like there was just so many things that we had to do, that we had to wait for, and then we moved on, and then we connected with people, and then we waited, and then we connected with our community. Right, and now everything is so intertwined, everything is so fast, like you couldn't use a microwave. There was no microwave, you had to put things in Banjo de Maria, you know, like in a double boiler to heat it up, or in a pot, like things weren't that fast. So it's the same thing with changing, making change in your body, whatever that might be, and also being patient to get the result that you want. But we're not taught that Everything is like in 30 days, look, lose 30 pounds, and this and that, and not really understanding what weight is and what it looks like. Because, on the other end, like I've had clients freak out and they're like, oh, I've gained five pounds since yesterday and I'm like you haven't gained five pounds, go take a poo Go pee.

Adda: 19:58

You didn't gain five pounds of fat, at least no, that's just, and we're not machines, like we are living beings.

Naihomy: 20:06

Things are fluctuating all the time, like maybe you have some inflammation, maybe you're close to your period, maybe your body's holding onto like water, maybe you haven't used the bathroom. Like there's just so many factors that play into that single number that you're seeing on the scale and we make it mean so much.

Adda: 20:27

So much and when you are focused on that results, on that number to go down, you will use strategies to get there no matter what, versus focusing on the process and join the process and the process is actually the result. If you make that mindset shift, your journey will become so much easier. Because when you're so hyperfix it on the number, on the scale, it is so easy to get discouraged, especially when you don't understand physiology, what it means. What does that mean? What you have to understand is when I did. I got introduced to Adkins in 2000. I lost 10 pounds in a week. Man, did I lose 10 pounds of fat in a week? No, never. But they don't teach you that. You don't hear that. All you hear is enrolling my program and you lose 30 pounds in a month.

Naihomy: 21:19

Yeah, what kind of weight are you losing?

Adda: 21:22

That's what you want to know, and you do want to know that, and we should care about that, because the reason why we get to our 40s and 50s struggling has everything to do with 20 years of wrong dieting. So when you get to me at 50 struggling and frustrated, it's not just about what program I'm going to use today. We have to figure out how you got here today.

Naihomy: 21:51

And let's throw the big bomb in there with perimenopause, menopause.

Adda: 21:57

Oh, do not get me started on that, all right.

Naihomy: 22:00

That's another podcast. But just know that that is another factor and layer that doesn't get spoken about, doesn't get taught.

Adda: 22:09

But we will talk about that because it's part of being realistic and having realistic expectations. We are going to touch on that. My friends, I am no hormone expert. I will leave that to you. We will be talking about that because part of my message today we got to have realistic expectations here.

Naihomy: 22:28

Yeah, absolutely so. I want to just give a little bit of background on the post that you saw that I posted. That triggered all of this, right, and like I thought, I started my health journey because I wanted to lose weight. I had two babies two years apart and I wasn't feeling like myself. I wanted to lose the weight, but at this point I had decided that I wasn't going to take pills or anything like that. I said, oh, I'm just going to do what people say you should do, and that's exercise. And then I started working with a nutritionist so I ended up losing 50 pounds and that was great. But what I also noticed is how great I felt in my body, and lucky me. What I did not know when I started that journey was that I was already pre-diabetic.

Adda: 23:18

Let me ask you something real quick. You said that you felt really good in your body. You said because being smaller gave you that confidence boost that most of us are seeking, or was it health?

Naihomy: 23:29

No, it was health.

Adda: 23:30

Number one.

Naihomy: 23:31

I didn't even know I was pre-diabetic. That was one and it got reversed, thankfully, in that process. But what I noticed was I had, my babies were, let's say, one in three right and I had already lost the 50 pounds. I had so much energy and I felt so fast, I felt so strong and that's what I noticed, because around the time that I had my two babies, a lot of friends also had two babies and I would notice the difference between my energy and their energy. That's one of the first things I noticed. I noticed how light on my feet I felt. I noticed how quick I was. I noticed how I could just, even though I was tired, it wasn't fatigued and it wasn't exhausted. It was just like I had a long day, I had work and then I had my kids and I had long commutes and all of that. So I really started to notice not only my energy but also my mental health. That's another thing I noticed, because when I would go to the gym I was a lot more patient. When I would go to the gym I was a lot happier. Things like that was that I noticed.

Naihomy: 24:50

And, yeah, I think that being in a smaller body did not have the effect I thought it would, because I was actually very self-conscious, because it was not my goal. That was never my goal. My goal was to lose weight, but I didn't expect to lose that much weight. It just ended up happening and I was actually embarrassed to show up and for people to see me, so I would try and hide. I didn't know how to dress myself Like. It was just another transition from that. But what I did not know in that journey is I didn't know how to appropriately, although I was eating better, I didn't know how to appropriately fuel my body for the exercises that I was doing. I wait, where was I?

Adda: 25:44

Oh, I didn't know how to you were not fueling yourself properly.

Naihomy: 25:46

Yeah, I was not fueling myself properly. So as I learned more and more and more, I started to number one. I invested in a personal trainer because I wanted to increase my muscle mass, I wanted to get stronger, especially at already 37. I was like I need to do this. Another thing is actually no, that's a lie. My friend, who is also a health coach, she told me she was like Naomi, you can't be doing random workouts anymore, you actually need a plan. And I was like you need a plan for exercise. Oh yeah, I didn't know that, like I was working out, but there was no plan. I was just showing up moving my body. And she's like yeah, you're just too far into your journey for that to be your strategy. You actually need a plan for what you're doing. And I was like, oh, okay.

Naihomy: 26:35

So then I hired a personal trainer and by then I already understood better how to feel my body for movement. So then my husband he sent me a photo that he had on his phone on me and he's like, wow, look how skinny you were. And I was like, oh my God. Like I myself was in shock as to how thin I was. And at that point I was like, oh, I made it Like this is the goal. I'm back at a size four. After having two kids, I've lost the 50 pounds and I've been able to maintain it and I'm really, really thin and I was like, oh, I made it Like, this is it Now? I've gained 30 pounds.

Adda: 27:20

How long?

Naihomy: 27:21

did it take you, though, so gained a 30 pounds back? Yes, it happened gradually, I think like over a year. Okay, yeah, it happened gradually.

Adda: 27:32

So when did it start happening? After you were able to maintain Because I'm assuming you were able to maintain for a certain amount of years and then you started noticing, because that's usually what happens, you're able to maintain your progress, not if you do it properly and then eventually. So do you mind? Just so that I can have feedback that's going to help your audience. Yeah, yeah.

Naihomy: 27:55

So I was able to maintain the 50 pounds off for about five years, yes, and then I turned 35, 36. I also got on some medications, like I was on an anti-depressant and I was on thyroid medicine and all that. But I also started personal training and I also started fueling eating to match the work I was doing. And this time I was actually feeding my muscles, whereas before I wasn't. So, although I was kind of strong, it wasn't like I was progressing at all because I was starving my muscles, and that's something that we need to realize too. We need to fuel appropriately. So, with an actual exercise plan, with my personal trainer and fueling my muscles, I started to increase in muscle mass Size, yeah, and in size. And all of a sudden, all the clothes that I had been wearing for the past five years did not fit and that was messing with my head. And now, all of a sudden, the scale started to go up and I'm like what's going on? What's going on? And then I really had to kind of ground myself in my health coach mind and actually realize what was happening, because it's such a tug of war, because everybody tells you like going up is bad and going down is good, but I knew that there's a difference. I knew that my body composition was different. I knew that I was getting stronger, that I was eating well.

Naihomy: 29:36

So what did those 30 pound increase? And what did two gene sizes up mean Actually mean? What did that actually mean, and how? On top of that was my lab work. How were my blood sugar numbers? How was all of my you know, like the numbers that they gather when they take your blood work Like, how is that doing? Because I was super skinny and I was pre-diabetic.

Naihomy: 30:05

So that's the post that I posted. I actually had the same clothes. I usually wear the same clothes until they're destroyed, basically. So I still had the same workout top and the same like workout leggings and I put them on and I tried to pose in the same way and you can clearly tell the difference, like in my arms, in my thighs, in my butt, in my waist, like you could see the muscle, and I was like, wow, look at this and you would assume. And on top of that, I ended up being talking about before and after pictures. If you ever go on my Instagram and you see my picture, like in a teal color dress, I'm the same weight now as I was.

Adda: 30:52

Yes, yes, picture when I was trying to lose the weight. Yes, so what does that tell you?

Naihomy: 30:57

Audience that weight means nothing, is all about your body composition, your body composition. People are shocked when they see, and I tell them, I weigh the same in both of these photos.

Adda: 31:10

Yes, yes, yes, and that was the post. I'm like we have to talk about this because we expect to be our smallest self the rest of our lives, audience. I'm here to tell you, unless you get paid to do that, unless your values are surrounded in your physical appearance, unless you're yourself worth it's high around how skinny you are, and then your life will evolve around that then, yes, because I mean body builds should do it, but even them, they have off seasons, they have working seasons. Even them are not able to sustain their leanest self.

Adda: 31:57

It's not healthy, it is not realistic to be your leanest self all year round, even revolutionarily speaking. Think about animals in the wild. Think about bears. They have access to more sugary foods that are conducive to putting more weight, so they put more weight in the summer so they can then hibernate in the winter and not die. Because you don't have that much access to food. You move less because it's cold, etc. So, even revolutionarily speaking, we are not meant to be our leanest self year round.

Adda: 32:37

So just having that understanding, when that scale moves up in the fall and winter, don't freak out and be honest with yourself, because if you really think about it, in the summer it's hot outside, that's usually vacation times, I should say the parks and the let's call for a walk because it's warm. So you are moving more naturally, without even giving it a second thought. It's not even intentional, it just happens. So you by nature move more. Better for you burning more energy. Come winter things starts to slow down. Oh, it's too cold, I don't wanna go out for a walk now. You get laced here because now you're in the cozy of your home with whatever the heat on and your blankets, and you naturally move less. So if you come from being more active in the summer to then less active in the winter, not to mention now in our society, the abundance of more food because of the holiday season. So we and again this happens unconsciously people, so you are eating more, even though you don't want to admit it, and you're moving less.

Adda: 33:58

Why would you expect your body not to change from one season to the next? And that's just environmental. There's tons of different things that will affect this. Your dieting history, like I said, your body will catch on sooner or later. Your body's sole purpose is to survive period and it will adapt if you give it a change. And the more changes in the wrong direction that you give it, the quicker that it's gonna get the message of okay, you're pushing me, I'm gonna give you what you want, but it's gonna stall sooner rather than later. The more dieting cycles that you do, eventually it's gonna get to the point and I mean you guys, we all been through this In our 20s and 30s. We were able to go on a diet and lose weight like this yeah, in no time. But then you get to 40s and 50s and it's like doing the same things just doesn't work anymore. Mm-hmm, why Am I all of a sudden not putting the same efforts? No, we still are. It's just physiology.

Naihomy: 34:58

Yeah, and the dropping and gaining of weight consistently and rapidly really puts a lot of stress on your heart.

Adda: 35:08

But okay, that's one, that's one, but what else? In my opinion, it is the big hit your muscles, your muscles, Mm-hmm, your muscles. To me, in my opinion, that is the biggest factor. Because muscle I'm sorry, naomi, go ahead, no, go ahead Muscle. I mean there's two things that will take your metabolism the amount of food that you eat and the amount of muscle mass that you have. You want to keep a nice furnace done on the eat and keep your muscles. So, just having that understanding, protect your muscles and don't under eat. And what do we do typically to lose weight? Under eat, under eat.

Naihomy: 35:54

And that's the consequence, and that's why I got so skinny. I was under eating, but I didn't know I was under eating. That's another thing.

Adda: 36:01

Exactly because they don't teach us that again. Remember, the thing is about just eating less, but substantiate that. What does that look like? On the what context? Eating less for you is going to be way different for eating less for me.

Naihomy: 36:15

Yeah.

Adda: 36:16

I work at a desk eight hours a day and only go to the gym twice a week, Versus someone that has an active job, always moving. Think of a nurse, think of a waitress on their feet, constant up and down all day, and then they also hit the gym regularly. That's an active person.

Naihomy: 36:41

Yeah.

Adda: 36:42

The average person sitting and working an office job eight hours a day. And even if you go to the gym every day, even if you go to the gym every day, if you have a desk job noose flash, my friends you're not an active person.

Naihomy: 36:56

No, and that's when my clients have desks, jobs like that, I tell them I'm like set a timer.

Adda: 37:01

So you can get up every hour. I tell them.

Naihomy: 37:04

Go to squats in the toilet, stall. Go walk around the office floor, go do these things. Don't stay there hour after hour after hour, at least every hour. Get up and do something.

Adda: 37:18

Because if you don't engage your muscles, first of all, you're already on the eating. Because you're not dieting, you're not stimulating your muscle to at least preserve it. Okay, because you have to stimulate the muscle, so you can either preserve it or actually increase it. But to increase it you gotta fuel it. But because you're not fueling it, at least, friends, stimulate it, and stimulate it with intention. It's not the five pounds little weights, just not too loudly here chatting with my friend on the phone as I'm just lifting doing 30 reps.

Naihomy: 37:59

You ain't gonna go nowhere with that person, or like walking on a treadmill and walking is just actually excessive.

Adda: 38:04

Walking can be muscle wasting. It's great for fat loss where muscle is coming along with it for the ride.

Naihomy: 38:12

When my clients are like oh, I just run and I'm like that's great, but that's not the only thing you need to do we need to be very clear what the goals are, and something I was gonna mention about dieting and muscle and preserving it is that when you lose weight rapidly like that, most likely you're losing your muscle. And then when you gain weight back, you're most likely gaining it back in fat. So if you go through the cycle five, 10 times, imagine how much muscle you're losing.

Naihomy: 38:42

And imagine how much more fat you're gaining.

Adda: 38:45

Exactly, and do that for two decades.

Naihomy: 38:47

Yeah, you get to your 50 now and that's detrimental and you wonder why you're struggling.

Adda: 38:52

That alone is the answer. That alone is the answer. So if you now, if you get to your 50, struggling, and you know you have that history of underfueling, hypercaloric diets, fast weight loss, have realist expectations and don't come to and jump on another protocol that's gonna ask you to do the same, the very same thing you have been doing before, because you know it's not gonna work, and then you're gonna be frustrated.

Naihomy: 39:21

Yeah, and actually, once you start to get older, there are specific ways to exercise, because one of the big things, like you're mentioning, exercise is a stressor. So we need to be mindful of the stressor that we're adding to our body and how to also make it feel safe while we're doing that, which is usually through food. So we need to pair the two. You need a plan for the two so that you get the results that you want. You cannot just pay attention to one thing and not the other.

Adda: 39:52

Well, which is why nutrition and a wellness journey needs to be personalized.

Naihomy: 39:56

I mean there are general guidelines, which is what we're talking about.

Adda: 39:59

These are just general guidelines, but my conversation with a 50 year old is gonna be very different with a 30 year old.

Naihomy: 40:05

Absolutely.

Adda: 40:06

You know, and again context when are you metabolically right now, If I already see that you're undermuscled? Forget fat loss for now. Yeah, we gotta do a reverse diet here. We gotta work on putting on more muscle and for that, my friend, you gotta eat some food.

Naihomy: 40:28

Well, even while you put on muscle, you will start to burn off the fat, so you don't even need to like you know.

Adda: 40:35

If you're in a calorie deficit, yes. But this is the thing, though. It's gonna be so challenging for someone that has an adapted metabolism Because, remember, people think, oh, my metabolism just is going down because of my age. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That has been debunked so many times you do. Your metabolism does not start to slow down until after your 60s. You know this. Research shows 62 on average.

Adda: 41:00

Just when your metabolism starts to go down, I'll be out, though there's social thing as called a adapted metabolism. Naturally it shouldn't happen to your 60s, but your metabolism will adapt to whatever environment it is in. So if you are on an environment of less muscle, yes, your basic metabolic rates will go down. So, for example, you come to me in your 40s and 50s already and your basic metabolic rates, say, is 1300 calories In general. People tell me oh, I'm dieting, I'm eating 1300 calories. I'm gonna tell you, dude, that's too little. But for that person that has a metabolism that's running on 1300 calories, for them to lose weight, they have to go under that. But because we don't have that knowledge, we don't know that, and then we set them up for failure. So at that point, my mission in life is because I don't want you starving yourself. I don't think 1300 calories is sufficient fuel for anybody.

Adda: 42:11

I have to come to you with really sad news, but with hope, but with hope. So are you coming to me for fat loss when you have an adapted metabolism that's only running on 1300 calories? And I know, as a coach, I want to feed my ego. I want to give you results. Someone have you eat 1200, but 1200 is not sustainable. I can push you, you can do it because you're highly motivated, but I can guarantee you sooner or later that's not going to be sustainable. And then what do you do? Here we go with the vicious cycle. So I have to set realistic expectations and break it to you with physiology and that's why I love data. Get yourself a dexascan, do yourself a RMR test so you test. You don't guess. So that way, when I tell you, girlfriend, I cannot promise you weight loss. We're gonna have to go through a reverse diet. We'll have to bring up your basic metabolic rate so that you're able to eat food without gaining weight.

Naihomy: 43:08

What's the basic metabolic rate? Can you explain that, just so people don't know?

Adda: 43:13

How do we burn energy in the body? It is broken down in different pockets. Your total energy expenditure is broken down in four different pockets. The biggest one, with accounts for 65% of the energy that you burn in a day, is called your basic metabolic rate. That is the amount of energy your body absolutely needs. Just to keep the lights on.

Naihomy: 43:38

Just to keep the lights on you probably- and that's like your lungs working your brain For your hair to grow for you to be able to warm yourself just to keep the lights on.

Adda: 43:49

You go below that and you are going to ruin your metabolism. You're going to downregulate your metabolism, so we need at least that minimal amount of food just to survive. Then the other chunk comes from what's called non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This is what Naomi's doing right now. You see her swinging. That is part of that. She's burning energy doing that. Me moving myself around this I am burning energy doing that.

Naihomy: 44:19

I'm standing. I have a standing desk, so I'm standing, because I spent an hour sitting coaching, so I decided to stand and I'm just moving back and forth Because-.

Adda: 44:28

Yes, and that is unconscious moving. She had the intention of doing it, but she's doing it unconsciously and that accounts. My friend, are you ready for this? Write this down, because when I understood that it was a game changer, that accounts for up to 25% of the energy that you burn 15 to 25% depending. That's a lot of energy. Compare to the one hour that you're killing it at the gym. That only accounts for. Are you ready for this? 5% to 10% of the energy that you burn? Yeah, so that alone shows you how unimportant exercise is for weight loss. For weight loss, for metabolic health amazing.

Naihomy: 45:19

Yeah.

Adda: 45:20

So when I understood that, because my focus was always exercise- exercise, exercise, exercise exercise, exercise, exercise.

Adda: 45:29

When I understood that only 5% really impacted the amount of energy that I've burned in a day. Why am I putting so much effort in exercise? Yeah, and let me give you a personal example. I got injured. I started getting injuries after I started getting perimenopause, but my first time was about three years ago Termanizcas and tendonitis where I could not grip anything. So my activity at the gym reduced significantly because I wasn't going to the gym, but because I had this understanding, I made it a point to be very, very mobile. I got myself a standing desk, I was standing at work during my lunch hour, I would go for walks, I would walk everywhere, everywhere. And I have substantiated data to prove how I was able to maintain my weight even though I was not working out, just because I increased my non-activity, yeah, non-exercise activity. And I want and again I'm going to put a parenthesis here because again it goes back to the realistic expectations. Why is that so important Once we hit perimenopause, my friends, whether you realize it or not, because that's the whole thing.

Adda: 46:52

We think we can. I hear this all the time. I have not changed a thing. I have still done the same things and I'm putting on weight. That's why, believe me, believe me when I tell you you're just not conscious of it, but you are moving less. Probably why it happens, naomi, it's just physiology estrogen and progesterone. They're like twin sisters keeping each other balanced.

Adda: 47:21

In perimenopause, estrogen starts to go down and then I mean progesterone starts to go down and estrogen is all over the place, and that all over the place causes you to be moody, tired, depressed. Believe me, even if you go to the gym every day at the same rate that you were going before, your effort is less, just because you don't have the stamina because of your hormonal changes. But we don't think about that. All we think is oh, I was going to the gym five days a week and I'm still going five days a week. I haven't changed anything. What's going on? Oh, yes, things have changed. I just don't realize it. So, by default, things are changing. Therefore, the scale is going to change and your body composition is going to change and everything else is going to change. That's the consequence. We're just not aware of it. So when was I going with this? So, yes, so that's part of your energy expenditure.

Adda: 48:19

Your non-exercise activity accounts more for that structure, intentional exercise, which is the 45 minutes to an hour at the gym lifting heavy stuff. Movement counts more than that. So if you're going to take another of the nuggets I want you guys to write down if you're taking notes is move more. Yeah, it's not necessarily go to the gym more, just move more. It accounts more for your energy that the body expands than that hour at the gym. Not discouraging the hour at the gym, because the hour at the gym especially if you're doing it correctly, which is leaving heavy, heavy, heavy stuff to put on muscle, because after our 30s that should be priority number one protect your muscle. So BMR 65% of your energy expenditure. Need non-exercise activity, thermogenesis. That comes for 25.

Adda: 49:20

And then the type of food that you eat also impacts how much energy you're burning. If you are someone like my daughter that also wants to eat carbohydrates, that's quick energy. Protein out of all the three micronutrients require because of the complexity of this molecular structure, that alone shows you the body requires more energy to break those bonds out. So that's why high protein diets are so popular for weight loss, because they will require more energy. So you actually burn energy to create the energy. So that's called the thermic effect of food. Yeah, and what was the fourth one? So BMR needs exercise and thermic effect of food. Those four, yeah. So that's what it counts for, the amount of energy that you spend in a day. So your question was what's BMR? Your BMR is your resting metabolic rate, not considering your movements and your fidgeting and your walking, not considering taking away the exercise and taking away the energy that it requires for you to digest the food that you eat. Your body requires a minimum number of calories just to survive.

Naihomy: 50:40

Yeah, like if you're sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing, like not moving at all. Nothing, yeah, nothing.

Adda: 50:48

So if you feed it below that for any extended period of time, it will down regulate, even if you're not in your sixties Because, again, naturally metabolism does not go down until you're after you know after 60. But if you under-fuel yourself chronically you can bet your life that BMR will go down because the body wants to survive.

Naihomy: 51:11

My friends, we want to be skinny, but the body wants to survive Exactly, and under-fueling or under-eating is a real thing, because you can't believe the amount of people that are like, oh, I skipped this meal and I skipped that meal and I only eat this and most of the time, depending on how you're moving or what you need or your lifestyle, like it's not enough.

Adda: 51:35

You know, and you know, the law of thermodynamics says energy cannot be created or destroyed. You have to eat less. If you want to be in a color, you have to be in a color deficit towards the way. That's physics. I did not invent that. There's people out there trying to disprove it. The jury is still out, if you will. The reason why I choose to follow the evidence and the evidence is that energy balance has to be accounted when it comes to weight loss period. But it's not the all and be all. No, there's so much more to that, so much more to that, and we all know it. We all have been through it. I don't need to convince you because we all have done it. We all have caught our calories and we all have up to our exercise and, yes, we have lost the weight. And then what happens? You gain it back. You gain it back why? Because it's not just about eating less and moving more. We have to account for the metabolic shift, the hormonal shift, and do this thing responsibly. Do this thing responsibly and while you're doing your 20s, when your metabolism was still ramping up, I mean you could just think of weight loss and you will lose it. It's not the same again. Because after 35, not accounting for the damage we have already done with all the dieting the last two decades, not accounting for that this is just physiology. This is just natural.

Adda: 53:01

After age 35, females have a harder time, not only, no, no, no. Let me backtrack. We start to lose muscle mass, to begin with, naturally, without you doing anything Nothing, yeah, without you, I mean, you are hitting it, you were doing everything you need to do, just biology, thank you, god, not appreciate that. One Okay, we start to lose muscle, yeah, and then, in addition to that, then at the insults of you doing things that make you lose more muscle. And then number two when you do get that knowledge and you do get that, okay, I know better, I'm going to do better you have a harder time putting on more muscle. Okay, just physiology. So not only are you losing more, but you have a harder time. Even in the right conditions, you have a harder time putting on muscle. That muscle protein synthesis is down-regulated just because of age, just because of the hormonal shifts that are happening after 35, because some other newsflash, my friend perimenopause can start in your late 30s.

Naihomy: 54:10

Yeah, yeah they say after 35, like you can start to see signs here.

Adda: 54:17

Yes, and it may not even be related to your periods, because I have people telling me oh, but I still cycle regularly, but once you start digging you, have plenty of symptoms.

Naihomy: 54:26

Even if you cycle regularly, there are certain. It's just that it's so subtle that you don't start to notice, especially if you don't have self-awareness. Something that I really work with my clients on is tracking their cycle, for wherever they are, at whatever age, whatever it is that they want to do, whether it's to get pregnant, whether they're in their mid 30s, because something that I've noticed I just turned 38, is that the length of my cycle has shifted, and that's something that has to do with perimenopause. Before all, throughout my 20s, my cycle was at least between 26 to 28 days, and now it can be anywhere between 22 to 25 days. Now I can say, yes, I cycle regularly and I do, but that shift in length of my period is a sign of perimenopause.

Naihomy: 55:25

Now if I'm not aware of it, if I've never checked my cycle, if I never knew what my original length was, then I would not know the difference.

Adda: 55:33

Absolutely. Let me tell you for me. I started experiencing perimenopausal symptoms in my 20s. My cycles were 22nd day, 22 days, 23 days, and then they were really short when I got to my 30s. My then what happens? The switch that happened was that my cycles got super, super, super heavy, super heavy, and I was such a light bleeder to begin with. So, and like low libido, for example, in my 30s libido who he has left the building, that's possible, I've been through it all, all my 30s.

Adda: 56:09

and here I think you said what is it when I like my boyfriend or what's going on with me? You know you don't put two and two together, yeah yeah. And then here I am, you know, losing muscle mass by all this chronic dieting with testosterone, already struggling testosterone low yeah. So because we don't have this knowledge? Again, we just continue to blame ourselves. What am I doing wrong? So with the lack of knowledge, my approach, we're not helping me Well, adding fuel to that fire.

Naihomy: 56:40

Yeah, one one is what am I doing wrong? And the other one, that's like something that I really want the audience to wrap their head around, is that it's normalized, because a lot of people have that experience.

Naihomy: 56:56

And it's like oh, I'm getting older and my mom went through it and my aunt went through it and you see these women that are of different generations in your family and they're complaining about that. Or it's in the, in the TV shows that you watch, and I see it get made fun of all the time and it's like, yes, if you follow same thing with chronic disease, right, if you follow the similar lifestyle, of course you're already predisposed to something. It's in your genes. However, you have control over your gene expression. You really can't.

Adda: 57:28

Epigenetics.

Naihomy: 57:29

Yeah, the way that your body reacts to things, based on what others saying, the different pressures of different stimulus, is that you give it. So if you're living a similar lifestyle, then all your other family members, then, yes, it's no surprise that you're also going to see and suffer from what they are experiencing. But if you decide that you're going to change your lifestyle and you're going to work on increasing your muscle mass and you're going to work on seeing what kinds of food you're eating and when you're eating it, you're going to work on getting your sleep and managing your stress and doing all these things, then what your family members have been going through, even though is normalized, is not necessarily what your story has to be as well. Absolutely, absolutely.

Naihomy: 58:16

I love the uh huh, yeah, and like I, the conversations just get me. Because it's like, oh see, you know, like I'm getting older, this happens. I'm getting older, my back hurts, my knee hurts. You know, I haven't the gestion. All these things are happening and I'm like, no, like we need to stop these conversations. And I remember one time I was in a supermarket I was in the Dominican supermarket or Hispanic supermarket and there was a grandma with her grandson and I overheard her, I guess. She mentioned the word diabetes and then the little boy asked her what's diabetes? And she said, oh, it's something that happens to old people. And I'm like, oh, don't tell him that, don't tell him that we cannot normalize these things?

Adda: 59:05

Yes, yes, no, no no, no, no no. Yes, yes, diabetes is a progressive disease of the old. That's what they call it. So wrong it can't be.

Naihomy: 59:16

Like what I don't know, I recently posted and for for the people listening to this, I'll link the the Instagram posts in the show notes so that you can go see what we're talking about. But this week there was an article in the New York Times saying how, you know, a lot of women who are overweight are using weight loss medicine to try and get pregnant. Now I don't want to get involved in how people decide. You know that they need the support to have their baby. That's totally up to them.

Naihomy: 59:49

But the part that really got me is that they were saying how women in their mid 30s and late 30s have uncontrollable diabetes. And I'm like why are we here in your mid 30s? Why are these women not being told that they're on the path to diabetes and giving them actionable tools and resources? Now remember I said I was pre diabetic. I show my lab work and I show my doctor's message on this post, where I was already in the pre diabetes range, and my doctor wrote on the note oh, although your, your results is out of range, it's not of concern.

Naihomy: 1:00:36

I said yeah, just say it every day. You know, it said exactly like I was saying. It says oh, just move more and watch what you eat.

Naihomy: 1:00:45

That's what I was told yeah, I don't know what that means. I was 31 years old, I have no idea. And if the first sentence says it's not of concern, then why am I going to pay attention to it? And this is why I say I got lucky, because I've reversed it not even knowing. I just found out like two years ago because I was digging through my blood work and all of a sudden I found this, this lab result from 2017. I did not even know. So something that I, you know, work a lot with my clients on is go getting like getting their blood work, if not, go getting fresh lab work, tracking their numbers, seeing which way they're trending, because they do have a lot of information, and I think it's such a disservice that women in their mid 30s all of a sudden have uncontrollable diabetes when you can start to see the pattern, or PCOS oh yeah, that's another one.

Adda: 1:01:42

And which has the same, which has the same root cause as diabetes.

Naihomy: 1:01:46

Yes, is this regulate, like blood sugar dysregulation, metabolic insulin resistance and insulin resistance, and you know what? That's something that they mentioned in the article too. Of course, if you have, especially during your reproductive year, a lot of insulin resistance, it can turn into PCOS, because it's a coin diabetes of the ovaries, and I have to tell you I have worked with a woman who has PCOS.

Naihomy: 1:02:16

She did not have a regular period for a whole year. Her doctor would have to give her medication every three months to have a false period, and when we started working together we started changing a bunch of things. I'm not going to name it and it was specifically for her right, but the point was that she started getting her period regularly. She's actually started losing the weight that her doctor was like consistently telling her about because the insulin resistance was holding her weight.

Naihomy: 1:02:49

Yes, yeah, holding on to it, she started to get again her period regularly, with no medication, and she ended up getting pregnant.

Adda: 1:03:00

Yeah, yeah, I have had many babies.

Naihomy: 1:03:04

Yes, so the thing is that, fine like I'm, you know there's a place in the time and a use for everything that's out there. I'm not like against anything. My biggest pet peeve, and like where I get really mad, is why aren't these women supported to just do what they're supposed to do to their body at like a healthy, in a healthy way, without having to all of a sudden go to these extremes because it might be too late?

Adda: 1:03:38

Because we have. I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why. Because.

Naihomy: 1:03:40

I mean, I know why, but you know.

Adda: 1:03:45

I am a metabolic health practitioner. That's my expertise, you know, and I hate to be a conspiracy theorist and tell you that you doctor once you're sick, you know, and that the industry's all about the money. I don't believe doctors go into medical school to make money. Yes, it's a lucrative business, but if you go in any type of the healthcare industry, you care about people. You have that in you that you want to help people. So I and yes, there may be the outlier there but I honestly believe that people don't go into medicine wanting to just harm people. Knowing better, okay, I refuse to believe that. I don't think that either. Yeah, the thing is that we do have a medical system. First of all, who is teaching our doctors?

Naihomy: 1:04:36

And who's sponsoring.

Adda: 1:04:38

If they're sponsoring the teaching, it, who's is the is the pharmaceutical industry, 100%. Who are the ones going, knocking on the doors of every medical office, giving them? All these reps that make a lot of money, going in every two weeks just to give you the latest data proof medication and giving you the rundown of the medication? The doctors themselves did not even sit down and took a course on that medication. They had a 10 minute training, not even by a pharmaceutical rep. Studies are sponsored by pharmaceutical industry because conducting studies are super, super, super expensive and the only industry that has the big pockets to offer them.

Adda: 1:05:23

So we're going off. I'm we're going on a tangent here, going back to what you were saying about diabetes and PCOS and metabolic health. We are so glucose centric, so glucose centric, and in fact, let me go back because I don't want to derail our conversation about, you know, expectations and we regain and all that kind of stuff, and another huge factor of why we regain the way back is the hormone insulin, and I'm going to bring that up because we were just talking about diabetes and PCOS and all that stuff, and you cannot talk about diabetes and PCOS and not talk about insulin.

Naihomy: 1:06:03

Absolutely.

Adda: 1:06:05

We are so glucose centric in this country that when you go to your doctors every single year religiously and your blood sugars are below 100, you get the bill, the clean bill, of health. Naomi, keep doing what you're doing. Meanwhile I'm having a hard time getting pregnant, meanwhile I'm getting weight, meanwhile I have hypertension and all this other chronic diseases, and that's because we are so glucose centric, which is a symptom. Sugar dysregulation is the symptom of a much deeper root cause, aka insulin resistance. If you were not insulin resistance, you will not have blood sugar dysregulation, right? Okay? So understanding that, why are doctors not routinely checking for insulin?

Naihomy: 1:07:00

You always have to ask for it.

Adda: 1:07:02

You have to ask for it, and I'm really hopeful. Did you know, by the way, I just heard today that, starting this summer, cgms are going to be over the counter.

Naihomy: 1:07:09

Oh really.

Adda: 1:07:10

Isn't that awesome news? That is awesome news. Yes, the DEXCOM is going to become available over the counter in the summer. Oh my gosh, I'm super excited about that because that is one way to see how your blood sugars are doing number one. But even then, cause I tell my clients all the time do not show me normal glucose. I don't care, I cannot trust it. I cannot trust that. I need to know how the boss is doing. Who manages glucose?

Naihomy: 1:07:36

Insulin. And just so you know, CGM is continuous glucose monitor and is this little device that you can plug into your arm and it connects to like an app, and it'll tell you how your glucose is doing when you eat, when you exercise.

Naihomy: 1:07:58

Food is not the only thing that can trigger insulin and a sugar spike. It's things like stress, lack of sleep, exercise, things like that as well. Heat, extreme heat, extreme cold, like all those things do affect it. This is why it's not just exercise, it's not just food, it's also how you manage your stress, it's also how you're sleeping, it's also how you're recovering. All of those things take part, and this is why I practice holistic health, because I really do know that it's not just about the food and the exercise. All these other factors that are happening in your life have a large contribution in the way that you're feeling and your body is reacting.

Adda: 1:08:41

So let's go back to realistic expectations. So why, all of a sudden, around 40, 50s and 60s, you start putting back on weight, and that's because we become more insulin resistant as we get older.

Naihomy: 1:08:53

Yeah, and also your fat distribution, because you're not in your, let's say, reproductive years anymore. The fat distribution changes. Your body is so smart, so instead of your fat distribution being around your hips and your breasts and all of that, then it starts to shift because it doesn't need to be there anymore.

Adda: 1:09:15

But all of that is hormonal driven. Well, that's hormonal.

Naihomy: 1:09:18

Yes, that part is Okay.

Adda: 1:09:21

So I'm doing everything right, I've changed nothing, but I'm putting on body fat. How is that happening? Because normally, again, this is normal. This is part of the process. Because of estrogen going down. Now, cortisol, you're having a hard time coping with stress. Yeah, because of the lack of estrogen Lack of progesterone. So that alone that I'll tell you you're the hormone expert.

Naihomy: 1:09:48

Progesterone progesterone.

Adda: 1:09:50

So cortisol now is having the spotlight because there's no one there trying to help her control it. And you become now more anxious, more moody, which is going to also require you to now be less how do you call that motivated? And if you're less motivated, that work that really seems like, ah, I dread. So now you find yourself not showing up at the gym as you usually used to, and again this is all, even subconsciously, okay. So and like you said, the body fat distribution.

Adda: 1:10:25

Because again all the stressors, because now you're not dealing with stress as well anymore. You're not sleeping because, again, hormonal shift, because of age yet another stressor you may be snacking a little more, you may be eating a little more sugar than you even realize or care to admit. Again because of hormones driven cravings. You're less insulin sensitive, so you're going to automatically hold on to more fat or actually predispose you to gaming more body fat. So all of these things are working against you, particularly at this age, at this phase of our lives, when we started hitting perimenopause 35 to 50. So it has nothing to do with you.

Naihomy: 1:11:11

Yeah.

Adda: 1:11:13

It's not you, it is not your willpower. You're not doing anything wrong. So expecting yourself to maintain your first transformation from six years ago is a little bit unrealistic. Yeah, and understanding how the body works and how the body uses food, nutrition and how the body works metabolism, you can be a little bit more gingerly yourself and create a plan to tackle those challenges. Yeah, and then that's how you stop focusing on the scale and be more gingerly yourself, be more patient, be more caring and I know this is easier said than done, believe me, yeah, especially as someone that teaches this and is going through this just like you and Naomi. This past year, I have put on, and as much as I would like to tell you is muscle, and I do. And I have gained muscle because, again, I'm a data person. I get dexas cancer every three months. So I know I have the data. I have put on muscle, but I have put on body fat as well.

Naihomy: 1:12:18

Yeah.

Adda: 1:12:19

Okay, so what is the automatic reaction that's very deeply rooted in me, especially now knowing that, hey, I'm a fitness trainer, I'm a nutrition coach and my health coach I shouldn't be getting weight.

Naihomy: 1:12:33

Yeah, what's wrong.

Adda: 1:12:35

What is wrong with me? What are people going to say? The fitness trainer that is getting weight? I cannot trust her. I cannot listen to her. She's not credible. It has taken so much shifting of how, reframing my thoughts.

Naihomy: 1:12:57

Absolutely. I've been there too.

Adda: 1:12:59

To not let this get to me. And what has helped me to is again digging in because, again, this just happened last year. It was clearly. It has been just like you, gradually the last two years, but it was massive, I can tell you, like a last switch. When it happened, it was August of last year. And then, boom, where does all this fat come from? And because then I came to the realization dude, you're 46, almost, you're almost 46. You go through perimenopause. And then I started because the fact that I'm a female, my friends, does not mean I know about perimenopause.

Naihomy: 1:13:43

Most GYNs do not even know Nope and you get dismissed.

Adda: 1:13:48

I had to hire a menopause informed personal trainer to guide me through this journey.

Adda: 1:13:54

Because, that's not my expertise. So what I have learned is you're doing the best that you can and to this day because I do have other conditions I am in a perpetual tweaking, testing, trying, monitoring, gathering data. That's why I'm data-driven and I'm still trying to find that sweet spot, and it continues to evolve. So while you did 20 years ago, 10 years ago, even five years ago, may need to be switched and tweaked around according to what's happening to you at this moment in time. So message that I want is number one so that we don't to make things easier, because, again, the lack of muscle mass is a huge factor, Because we're going to struggle when you get to this phase in life. You're going to struggle, so don't add fuel to the fire by coming to this phase of your life under muscle and just to add on the putting out of muscle is not just for muscle sake and for managing insulin and all that.

Naihomy: 1:15:00

It has a trickle down effect. So if you don't have muscle and you're not using it, then your bones they're not talking on your bones, so your bones don't feel the need to stay strong, and this is why women in menopause suffer a lot more fractures and get more injured. This is this trickle down effect. Then your muscles are not strong, they're not pulling on your bones. Your bones start to get brittle. Then it's easy for them to crack and break right. So we want to be mindful of those things. It's not just about muscle is. Everything in the body is so interconnected and they work with each other.

Adda: 1:15:36

Absolutely.

Naihomy: 1:15:37

And your body doesn't have unlimited resources either, so it will take from other parts of you, if you're not giving it to your body to compensate for what I've said, just keeping you alive.

Adda: 1:15:50

Why do we lose hair when we under eat? Why do we lose hair? Why do they get cold all of a sudden?

Naihomy: 1:15:55

Yeah, because you don't. That's not needed for survival. You don't need hair to survive and the body don't need nails to survive. You don't need your period to survive, and if you're under that much stress, your body says this is not the right time to reproduce. We're shutting it down.

Adda: 1:16:11

And we went through all of those things without any regard like, oh my God, I'm losing hair on this diet. That should be red flag number one that we're doing something wrong. You know, I'm having a hard time keeping my body temperature. I'm running cold all the time. I don't know about you, but I experienced those when I was chronically underfeeding.

Naihomy: 1:16:29

Well, I experienced that. I think it was more because my thyroid, like I, have subclinical, but I have a theory, naomi.

Adda: 1:16:37

This is not research based. This is my theory, based on clinical practice. Chronic under eating is one effective thyroid. So the consequence of that, then, is going to be the hair loss. So you have to tie it in to the thyroid, but the thyroid could be disregulated because of your lady?

Naihomy: 1:16:54

Yes, that, and my doctor told me that pregnancy is a big stressor and a trauma to the thyroid, so that affects it as well. So maybe it was just like a lot of those things together.

Adda: 1:17:07

But, like you said, everything connects. I mean everything is connected One hormone. Hormone dysregulation will affect the rest. You cannot, you know, rub Peter to pay Paul.

Naihomy: 1:17:19

Yeah.

Adda: 1:17:20

Yeah, it doesn't work that way, you know, and it could be very simple. This whole thing about nutrition, you know, from a big angle, from the top, can be very simple. You know energy balance, manuscript calories, and the studies do support that. I don't care what diet you do If you lose weight, no matter what you do, you're going to have health benefits. It's about not being, not having energy toxicity. It's about maintaining a good energy balance. Yeah, but good luck maintaining a good energy balance when you have already in that, in down regular metabolism. You're going to be hungry all the time.

Naihomy: 1:18:07

Yeah. And then you're like oh, I can't stop snacking, I can't stop eating. What's wrong with me?

Adda: 1:18:14

No, so we have to understand all of these things, to be more patient, be gingerware bodies and have more realistic expectations that we don't get discouraged, because the whole yo-yo thing starts with discouragement due to lack of knowledge of how the body works. Yeah, it's not just about eating less and moving more.

Naihomy: 1:18:35

Yes, oh my gosh. I think that is exactly where we're going to leave it, because we can go on forever.

Naihomy: 1:18:42

Yes, and we came back full circle.

Naihomy: 1:18:45

We came back for so full circle.

Naihomy: 1:18:47

There's just so much that we don't know and I feel like a lot of times because eating is something that's so innate Like this is what you do and we don't realize how much society has changed to kind of hinder our health, because in the past, you know, there was a lot more movement, there was a lot less conveniences you had, you were forced to be outside things like that a lot more.

Naihomy: 1:19:15

We don't realize how much the ultra techie, advanced society that we live in affects our health and how much more intentional we have to be at maintaining our health and doing what we as humans actually need to be healthy, instead of like being inside all day, sitting all day. All these conveniences and all of the how food has changed and how we live in a capitalist society all of that affects us and we just don't see it. So it's a matter of listening to conversations like these, getting curious and kind of evaluating how you're living your own life. So please tell everybody how we can support you. Where can we find you if they're interested in reaching out, learning more?

Adda: 1:20:05

Thank you. Thank you, yeah, you know I try my best to be social, but it's a middle-aged thing. I get a lot of resistance from my inner child, but I try to be. You can find me at the wellness room LLC on Instagram. That's pretty much the only place you know. Even though I don't post regularly, at least I'll show up on my stories. I'll show you everything that I eat and I show you all my glucose response to everything that I eat.

Naihomy: 1:20:33

Yes, you totally show up, and if you do, I'm her, she'll respond. She responds to me, yes.

Adda: 1:20:39

So, yes, I'm very happy to announce that I just applied for accreditation to become a metabolic health practitioner. Even though I've been practicing metabolic health for so long, it's so nice to actually have to be accredited for that, so I'm really excited about that. My niche, the people I like to work with, are diabetics, pre-diabetics and anybody that has any chronic diseases like hypertension, you know, pcos and all that good stuff.

Naihomy: 1:21:09

So I would like to serve Give yourself the gift of Allah so you can live your best life.

Naihomy: 1:21:15

Thank you, everybody for tuning in. If you enjoyed this conversation, please go ahead and rate the podcast. If you take a screenshot and share it on Instagram, make sure to tag us so we can reshare it and get this information to as many people as possible. Please help us spread the word. It is something that affects our community greatly. We would love it that our people are not at the top of the chart at all these chronic diseases. All right, help us spread the word. If you're asking yourself, what can I do? How can I participate? Just sharing this is a great way. So thank you so much and I'll see you all next week.

Naihomy: 1:21:54

Bye, thank you so much for tuning into another episode of Wealthy Generation Podcasts. Your time and attention mean the world to me and I'm truly grateful for your support. Come and join my community over on social media by following me on Instagram at Naomi Hiddis, where you'll have access to real-time healthy inspo and see what I'm up to in my own wellness journey on the daily. I invite you to keep elevating and evolving your holistic health journey by subscribing to my newsletter at NaomiHiddiscom, you'll receive exclusive content, valuable resources and juicy stories straight to your inbox. But here's the best part, you have the power to spread the WELL wealth. Share this episode with a human who could benefit from this topic. Together, we can create wealthy generations.

Naihomy: 1:22:48

I will be back with another exciting episode next week, so make sure to subscribe to Wealthy, wellthy Generation Podcasts on your favorite platform so you always make time for your wellness. By the way, remember I am a certified integrative nutrition health coach. I am not a medical professional. This content should be listened to for informational and educational purposes only. None of it should be considered medical advice. Always reach out to a medical professional for your health care needs. Peace out.