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If you're over 50 and you've been told that the belly fat, the low energy, the mood swings - that it's just your age, that that's your new normal - well, I'm here to tell you that's absolute rubbish.

Introduction

Hi everyone and welcome to my YouTube channel. Today I'm going to be talking about how to have weight loss after the age of 40 or 50, how to have a six-pack when you're older, how to use your metabolism to benefit you, how to balance your hormones and all of that sort of good stuff. This guide is a culmination of years of really hard-won experience packed with some actionable insights and tips to help you achieve a six-pack and to feel lean and mean after the age of 50 - better than you did in your 20s.

It's really drawing on my own transformation from battling with weight and hormonal imbalances to discovering the science of genetics and epigenetics, and I'll show you how to unlock your body's potential. Whether you're in your 40s, your 50s, or beyond, it's never too late to start your journey to optimal health and strength. And this isn't just about the aesthetics of it all - it's really about your metabolic health.

My Story

Bear with me while I share a little bit of my story and my background as to why this is important to me. As a young person, I was a gymnast and then I went through puberty. I was placed under intense pressure to lose weight and maintain a really unrealistic level of thinness. If you think back to the early '80s and late '80s, that was the time when I was a teenager and this was when all girls had to be super super thin - that was the ideal for gymnastics as well as in society in general at that time.

I was tall, muscular, athletic, and I didn't fit the mold of what was considered acceptable in the sport that I'd chosen. This pressure led to massive self-esteem issues around my weight and my body image. I tried every diet and program out there in an attempt to shed more weight than was healthy or realistic, resulting in the dreaded yo-yo cycle. I developed eating disorders as a result.

By the time I reached my 20s, I tried to maintain control through excessive exercise. I know this is a story of many young ladies in the past and now, so I wanted to share this story with you to let you know how I dealt with it later on.

The Ultra-Marathon Years

This is when I became an ultramarathon runner after my gymnastics career. I was doing excessive exercise - I was racing in some of the world's toughest endurance events for over 25 years, leading expeditions and pushing my body to the absolute limit. Convinced that extreme exercise, besides the joy of having adventures and pushing my limits (which I was also into), was the key to managing my weight.

Ironically, I got the opposite result. I became inflamed, hormonally imbalanced, and I gained more weight despite all of my efforts. It really hit home when I ran the entire length of New Zealand, which is my home country, for charity. I did 2,252 kilometers - 52 marathons in 42 days - and I put on weight while doing it. That's when I realized that something was not right with my endless cardio weight maintenance program. But I didn't know what to do instead.

We were told in the 80s and 90s, the early 2000s: calories in, calories out, all of that sort of garbage. And that's what I was trying to do. It wasn't until I discovered the science of genetics at the age of 48 that things really began to change for me. I began to decode what true health, hormonal balance and lower inflammation levels meant for me personally.

The Truth About Aging

So if you're over 50 and you've been told that the belly fat, the low energy, the mood swings - that it's just your age, that that's your new normal - well, I'm here to tell you that's absolute rubbish. I'm living proof that your best body is not necessarily behind you, but ahead of you.

I'm now 57 years old. I have a lower body fat percentage than I ever had in my 20s and my 30s. I still fluctuate a kilo up or down or two, but pretty much I have it under control. I have more energy, a sharper brain, better skin than I did when I was exercising excessively, and I'm now exercising 85% less than I was when I was doing the ultramarathons and racing across deserts and through the Himalayas.

I went from being really inflamed, hormonally wrecked, gaining weight despite running 2,250 kilometers in 42 days, to having a lean and strong body by finally understanding my hormones, inflammation, cortisol, insulin, and training smarter instead of harder.

Today I'm going to give you that complete blueprint without the fluff. No "eat less, move more, calories in, calories out" nonsense - the real science that actually works after the age of 40 or 50.

The Brutal Truth

As we get older, we get more belly fat around the middle, which is the dangerous weight. After the age of 40 or 50, long cardio doesn't make sense and it makes things worse. When your estrogen and progesterone levels plummet in perimenopause and menopause, your body shifts fat storage from the hips and thighs (where women should be holding their fat) to the abdomen. That's the menopause belly that everyone complains about.

Then your testosterone drops and you start to lose muscle, your metabolism starts to tank and you store even more fat. Add decades of stress and sky-high cortisol levels and your body goes into permanent famine mode and starts storing visceral fat. That's the dangerous organ fat - it doesn't matter what diet you do, you seem to put on weight around the middle.

This visceral fat pumps out inflammatory cytokines - interleukin-6, TNF alpha and others - that drive insulin resistance, heart disease, diabetes and accelerate aging. I was the queen of cardio. I ran across countries covering more than 70,000 kilometers in my career and doing more than 140 ultramarathons as well as leading expeditions. And I got fatter and more inflamed for all my troubles.

The moment I stopped the endless running and started applying real science, everything changed.

STEP 1: Map Out Your Hormones and Your Genetics

Stop guessing, start testing. You cannot fix what you don't measure. If you don't know how inflamed you are, if you don't know your genetics, then you're bound to make the standard mistakes that everybody makes.

You can get these tests if you possibly can. I know they're a financial investment, especially the genetics test, but it's really valuable because it's a lifelong test that does not change - your genetics are your genetics from the day you're born to the day you die. That's like having a blueprint.

Key Tests I Recommend:

The DUTCH test (Dried Urine Test of Complete Hormones) - this shows your estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, your DHEA, your cortisol curve, how you metabolize cortisol over the day, and how you metabolize your hormones and what pathways you put them down.

Fasting insulin and HbA1C to see whether you have insulin resistance - that's something I would attack first if you do.

Full thyroid panel - your TSH, your free T3, your free T4, your reverse T3 (which most doctors don't test), and your antibodies. You really need a full thyroid panel, not just your TSH and your T4 like most doctors do.

Vitamin D, magnesium, B12, folate, and your homocysteine levels. That's a blood test that is well underutilized but very powerful - it will tell you a lot about your risk factors for cardiovascular disease, how well you're methylating, and so on.

If possible, an omega-3 index that can tell us about your omega-3 status and your fatty acid profiles.

Other helpful tests include organic acid testing, genetic testing, and regular blood tests including your CBC and cholesterol. If you can get a blood test every 3 to 6 months ideally, you can track your trend data. In my dream world, everybody could get blood testing done every month so we know exactly what's happening in more or less real time. Most of us don't have that opportunity - honestly, our animals get better treated!

If you've got a cooperative doctor, maybe you could get one every 3 to 4 months. That would be really valuable, especially if you're in that menopausal age group or middle age. For men, this is when things start to go south, when your metabolism starts to decline.

When your hormones are balanced, fat loss becomes easier - it's not just a war, it's a heck of a lot easier.

STEP 2: Kill Chronic Inflammation (Inflammaging)

Otherwise, you can forget having a six-pack, forget being lean if you have chronic inflammation going on. As we get older, we get a lot of this just naturally, so you have to really work against that inflammation.

The Stanford University and the Buck Institute's 10,000 project (which I've talked about quite often on this channel, and I've interviewed the project director, Dr. David Furman) - this is the world's largest and longest human immune system clinical trial and it proves that immune system decline is at the core of all aging, and that immunosenescence affects all 12 hallmarks of aging. So it makes sense to start with your immune system, and that's what I did with my biotech company Aevum Labs.

When your inflammatory markers like interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and TNF alpha are high, your body holds fat (among other problems) as a buffer. To that end, I developed an immune age calculator that gives detailed and nuanced information for practitioners and laypeople alike about the health of your immune system, what areas specifically may be giving you trouble, and how to approach those issues.

This is really key to slowing aging and building resilience, lowering inflammation, and having more energy and vitality. It's also key to losing fat. That calculator is hopefully going to be available very soon - I'm just working out all the legal stuff. It's going to be a powerful calculator that will show you how your immune system is aging based just on your CBC, which is a common blood test. You can plug that data into this calculator and it will give you a really nuanced breakdown using scientifically validated ratios.

Fix Your Gut

70% of your immune system is in and around your gut. Leaky gut (which is epidemic in our society) equals systemic inflammation, which equals locked fat cells. You can't lose the fat. This is just one of the key areas that I focus on.

STEP 3: Build Muscle Like Your Life Depends on It - Because It Does

Muscle is the currency of longevity and your fat-burning engine after 40 or 50. Every decade after 40, you lose between 3 and 8% muscle mass (known as sarcopenia) unless you fight back.

More muscle equals higher resting metabolism, better insulin sensitivity, higher growth hormone and testosterone, and myokines - anti-inflammatory compounds that muscles release when you train them.

I ditched the long distance running (which increased problems with cortisol and created a hormonal nightmare - sorry ultra runners, but that's the truth) and I switched to strength training. I do a lot more strength training now than I ever did when I was younger - three to five times a week. It doesn't have to be at the gym, but you can do lifting heavy stuff.

Obviously do it in a controlled manner (this is not personalized advice for you), but make sure you get clearance and work with a trainer if you've never lifted weights before. You need to know what you're doing, have good form, etc. - all those caveats.

Things like deadlifts, squats, compound movements, pull-ups, press-ups - all of those sorts of good movements that can really build a strong, powerful body. This builds muscles that help you keep your metabolism strong, puts out those positive myokines, helps you keep your bone density - all of that sort of thing. Strength training is my number one when you're getting older.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Short HIIT sessions - I usually do 4 to 8 minutes at high intensity. You can go up to 20 if you're really fit, but you don't want to be overdoing this. That might be running, cycling, CrossFit, or circuit training - something where you're going hard out for anything from 20 seconds to a couple of minutes, then having a rest, then going again.

When you do HIIT training, you get a lot more growth hormone release, more BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) which helps with your brain. You're sending out all those positive myokines, all those signals to the body to live and want to live. You're helping yourself stay younger for longer - really crucial.

Other Training

The third part of training is things like Pilates, yoga, tai chi - all of that sort of good stuff. Anything that's good for your core, your recovery, your balance, or lowering stress levels. Breathwork, that type of thing - really good.

Then short cardio sessions - short running sessions, cycling, swimming, rowing, but not the super long marathons or ultramarathons. I get it if that's your sport - believe me, I did it for 25 years. But understand the consequences of doing really long cardio for too long in your 40s and 50s. It's better to be doing shorter sessions.

I train less than ever because I don't have the time. I run three companies and I have a disabled mom who has 24/7 needs now. I don't have the luxury of training for hours on end like I did when I was younger. And I get better results. I train less than ever and have more control over my weight than ever because muscle burns fat - even while you sleep.

Sleep is Crucial

Sleep is really crucial for weight loss. If you're a shift worker exposed to artificial lights at night - our doctors, nurses, people in hospitals, firefighters, all those people that work all night that are so crucial for our society - you're absolutely not doing yourself any favors when it comes to longevity and weight management. Insulin resistance is a real problem when you have shift work. If there's any way to avoid that, good luck. But at least understand that's a really big problem and try to mitigate it if that's the case for you.

I've also got my hormones dialed in, which is not easy and you need to work with professionals to do that. You need to keep an eye on it because your hormones change as you go through menopause, perimenopause, after menopause, etc. For women, it's particularly complex but worth the battle.

For men also, your testosterone levels drop off a cliff. You may want to support that naturally, do things like weight training which will build your testosterone levels. But the message I wanted to get here is: stop doing the hours of cardio once you're over 40 or 50. It eats muscle and it spikes cortisol. Not to mention it makes your face look older.

Ladies, too much running makes you too lean in the face and neck, you get more wrinkles, less fat in your face. You've got to choose between your ass and your face once you're over 40. But if you build muscle, that will help.

Build muscle and watch the fat loss - it will come off. Ladies, muscles are essential. I know for decades, especially those of us who are over 40, we were told that to be thin is the aesthetic ideal. Flip that notion on its head. Sexy muscles are where it's at. That's very crucial for longevity.

STEP 4: Restore Insulin Sensitivity - The Master Key to Unlocking Stubborn Fat

Insulin resistance is epidemic after 50 and it makes having abs and being lean impossible.

How I fixed my situation goes beyond the scope of this video, but it includes:

• High level of protein - somewhere between 1.6 and 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for women at least (men a little bit more)

• Time-restricted eating can help - 16:8, occasional 24-hour fasts or longer if your adrenals are strong enough (but not if they aren't - this needs guidance)

• Supplements like berberine (500 milligrams before meals), B2 and carnitine (acetyl-carnitine is really important for fat burning), and EGCG (green tea extract)

• A 10 to 15 minute walk after every main meal can be really beneficial to bring your blood sugars down and help with metabolic health

Omega-3s

Really important for cardiovascular health, brain health, and neuromuscular health (the connections between your neurons and nerves). Typically we have too many omega-6s in our society and not enough omega-3s, because omega-6s are in all the processed food (they can preserve food with omega-6s, but not omega-3s).

Omega-3s are in fish, fish oils, walnuts, and a few other things. We tend to have way too many omega-6s (which are pro-inflammatory) and not enough omega-3s (which are anti-inflammatory). Omega-6s are also important, but we usually have too many in relation to omega-3s. We want that ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 to be right.

One of my favorite supplements is fish oils - but quality fish oil. Quality is really important. You don't want cheap fish oil out of the supermarket because it will be rancid and will do more damage in your body. You have to have good quality.

Magnesium

Pretty much everybody's deficient in magnesium. It's involved in over 300 processes in the body - absolutely crucial for so many things. Putting some magnesium into your supplement routine would probably not go amiss. Not personalized advice, but I do like magnesium bisglycinate, or if you have brain problems, brain injuries, depression, or can't sleep - magnesium threonate. Then there are others like taurate, really good for muscles and so on.

When your insulin drops, your body can access the stored fat - and that's when you get lean.

STEP 5: Make Cortisol Your Servant, Not Your Fat Storage Master

Chronic stress equals high cortisol, which equals belly fat and abdominal fat. It also equals muscle loss, sugar cravings, poor sleep, and poor immune system. This chronic stress gets overlooked and is really hard to deal with in our society, I know. But do your best to do breathwork, meditation, yoga, time in nature, go sit and stare at the ocean - whatever you need to do to get your stress levels down on the daily.

My Cortisol Supportive Protocol:

• Getting morning sunlight within 30 minutes of waking (even if it's just for a couple of minutes) - no glasses, you want the early morning sunlight on the eyes. I've done a whole podcast with Dr. Vanessa Ingraham on my podcast recently about circadian rhythms - highly recommend it. Circadian rhythms are absolutely crucial to get your hormones in balance.

• No blue light after 8pm if you can avoid it. Blue light comes from fluorescent lights, TVs, computer screens. You can use things like Flux (software that makes it less blue light), you can do that on your phone, dim the lights in your house, put in red lights instead of the normal junk light.

• Magnesium threonate at night to calm that brain down if you've got an overactive brain like me

• Ashwagandha and rhodiola - these are adaptogens that can really help with cortisol. Holy basil too. (Not personalized - these have to be personalized to your specific case and genetics, and there are pluses and minuses to all these herbs, but these are some general ones that can be supportive)

• I'm also a huge fan of having some Himalayan salt or Celtic salt or good quality salt in the morning - like a quarter of a teaspoon in a glass of water to really help the adrenals (if you've got adrenal and cortisol problems, that can be very beneficial, as long as you don't have blood pressure problems, because some people are sensitive to salt - you can see that in your genetics)

• 10 to 20 minutes of breathwork or meditation per day

• Contrast showers - I get up and have a cold shower every morning. That gets that cortisol going and the dopamine going, I feel less pain and more energized afterwards. Not always pleasant, I'll be honest, but I do it.

• Try not to eat 2 to 3 hours before you go to bed (doesn't always work, I know, but do your best)

• Definitely no alcohol 2 to 3 hours before bed because that will mess up your sleep. A lot of people think they drink alcohol to go to sleep - it helps you fall asleep, but it wakes you up and you'll end up having low blood sugars in the middle of the night and cortisol will wake you up. The quality of sleep you have when you have alcohol is very poor. If you're a woman going through menopause, then alcohol is a double whammy - your liver is already under pressure.

Good quality sleep is a non-negotiable. Poor sleep destroys hormones overnight. Treat sleep like the ultimate anti-aging drug, because it is.

There are other things you can do - some longevity hacks. I run a hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinic, I have red light therapy as well, PEMF therapy, hydrogen inhalation - all of these are very supportive therapies, but not everyone's got access to them.

STEP 6: Detox Obesogens and Environmental Toxins

Your fat cells store toxins like BPAs, phthalates, pesticides, heavy metals. When your body is toxic, it holds fat to protect your organs. Detox protocols are complex and need to be personalized to you, so I won't go into details here. But when I'm working with people, I try to personalize their whole protocol to everything like their genetics and their state of their blood tests.

General Tips to Help Avoid Toxins:

• Drink out of glass or stainless steel when possible and avoid plastics (they've got estrogen mimics in them, BPAs, etc.)

• Have filtered water, not just normal tap water that's full of chlorine, fluoride and god knows what else. Quality of your water is really important.

• Organic food where possible

• Avoid processed foods with tons of E numbers - if it's got chemicals in it that you can't read, then it's not food

• Clean beauty products - make sure your personal hygiene products are organic if you can, without BPAs and phthalates

• Daily sweating - that could be sauna or your training

• Rejuvenate Pro (my supplement from Aevum Labs) - it's a really good foundational supplement that helps with your gut health, your immune system, your longevity, your cellular health, your brain, your cardiovascular system

I'm also a big fan of N-acetylcysteine (a precursor to glutathione, which is the master antioxidant in your body) - very helpful for detoxing. Things like sulforaphane (broccoli seed extract or broccoli extract), zeolite, activated charcoal - these are good binders you can use as well.

STEP 7: Personalize Everything with Genetic Testing

One-size-fits-all fails once you get over 30 really. I test my genetics so I know. Hit me up if you want to do gene testing because I do work with people on gene testing. It's the most powerful, most important test you can do. It's an investment, it does cost, but when you do it, your genes don't change. This is like getting a user manual - it helps you tailor your program, your diet, your lifestyle, your immune factors, your hormonal factors, everything to your particular type of genes.

Your genes never change, so it's a permanent user guide to your specific body. That's the key. When we combine this information with other tests that are a snapshot in time, we get a very clear view as to what's going awry in your body and how to optimize it.

What Genetic Testing Tells You:

• Your immune system predispositions

• Your hormonal predispositions

• What foods to eat and when (not just the what, but the when)

• What types of exercise to do and when

• Your inflammatory risk factors

• Your brain health predispositions and much more

• Your cholesterol, cardiovascular risk factors, inflammation risk factors - so much information

It's usually too much to take on all at once. When you do get a gene test, make sure you put it somewhere safe so you can come back and refer to it when you face a different problem, because then you'll get more insights.

Genes are not necessarily your destiny, but they guide you as to how you can optimize your health and your life. It's information that empowers. This is why some people thrive on a keto diet and others get hypothyroid. Your genes hold the answers. This is absolutely key to getting it right specifically for you - for YOU. No more guessing.

Your mate on Instagram got these results with this diet - does not mean that you will because you've got a different set of genes. Understand that. You want it personalized to your genes, your stage of life, and your particular set of problems you're facing.

Other tests like microbiome testing and organic acids can give your practitioner new insights as to how to tweak things in relation. You can see how complex that is, but it's really important because what is more important than your health?

The Results

Now for me, I'm 57. I do have a six-pack. I have low body fat. I have a lot of energy. I have no menopausal symptoms anymore because I am on bioidentical hormone replacement (that's a topic for another day - I'm a very big fan of it for the right person with the right practitioner guiding you with knowing your predispositions, etc., but very powerful for slowing the aging process).

I now train maybe four or five hours a week because that's all I can manage with my busy schedule, and that's what I need to do to maintain where I'm at. This is not genetic luck - this is applied science and refusing to accept the decline that you're meant to go through in your 50s.

Take Action

If you're ready to stop fighting with your body and start working with it using the exact protocols I use, you can work with me if you want to reach out and redefine your future. You're not too old.

If you don't want to work with me, that's fine. Take away something from this video to implement into your life. There is a ton of information - I've just dropped knowledge bombs everywhere. It's been hard-won information, believe me, and I've got it wrong so many times and there's still lots to learn, but there's some gold in there if you want to dig around and pull it out for yourself.

If you want to work with me, you can reach out at support@lisatamati.com.

The last thing is: don't believe all of those who tell you you can't do something or that you should be a certain way at a certain age. Tell them to bugger off and find people that tell you you can do it and here's how. There are many good people out there that can help you with that.

I wish you all the best and thanks for listening right through to the end. Really appreciate you. Please give us a like and a subscribe and share this with your friends and your family if you wouldn't mind. Check out the podcast Pushing The Limits, my YouTube channel obviously, and check out everything that I do over at lisatamati.com.

Thanks guys. See you soon.