and seeds as her protein. “I also
began eating more veggies in
one day than I used to in weeks.”
The result? “Like so many of my
Bright Line friends, my weight
loss has been much quicker than
when I was younger!” In less
than two years, she shed 168
pounds and went from a size 32
to a 4. “I treat myself gently—no
shame, no guilt. I’m told I have
the blood panel of a 20-some-
thing. I’m so happy, I can hardly
stand it!”5 oz. chicken or tofu prepared
with no-sugar-added marinade
and grilled; enjoy with 4 cups
of salad, 1 cup additional salad
veggies and 2 Tbs. vinaigrette.5 oz. beef prepared with 1 Tbs.
sugar-free marinade stir-fried
with^1 ⁄ 2 Tbs. oil, 1 cup broccoli
and garlic to taste; enjoy with(^1) ⁄ (^2) cup brown rice and 1 orange.
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
5 oz. tofu prepared with no-
sugar-added tofu scramble mix,
such as FreshJax, plus^1 ⁄ 2 cup
cooked quinoa or roasted pota-
toes and 1 sliced tomato.
What’s more, these plant foods
provide lots of fiber, which
further improves insulin levels.
Says Thompson, “In my experi-
ence, the essential elements in a
healthy food plan are eliminat-
ing sugar and flour, eating tons
of vegetables and having just
enough fat, protein and fiber
so insulin levels stay steady.”
Real-world wow!
“Even as a kid, my brain never
seemed to register that I was
full, and I just constantly grazed
on processed food,” recalls Sonja
Waters, 60, of Washington state.
“I finally had some success on
a Paleo diet, but as I got closer
to menopause, it stopped work-
ing.” At 315 pounds, Sonja
heard about Thompson’s
book. “Three chapters in,
I realized if I worked with
my body and brain, I might
finally have success.” She
soon found her cravings
vanishing. After years of
meat-heavy meals, she grav-
itated toward beans, tofu
making enough estrogen to con-
trol insulin, levels come down
anyway. Thompson says for a
woman in or past menopause,
it means “you’ll lose weight just
like you did decades ago.”
“Phyto” boost
Another bonus for
Bright Liners over
age 40: You’ll
eat well over
two pounds of
fruit, veggies
and plant-based
foods a day—
many of them
rich in phytoestrogens.
These plant compounds
activate the same receptors as a
woman’s own estrogen and trig-
ger similar benefits. How well
do they work? In a Canadian
study, postmenopausal women
who ate the most lignans—a
phytoestrogen found in flax-
seed, sunflower seeds, berries,
kale, broccoli and tofu—car-
ried about 19 fewer pounds of
fat than those who ate the least.
#1 get-slim hormone trick
Experts agree that improving
insulin levels is key to getting
slim amid age-related changes in
estrogen production. “Insulin is a
fat-storage hormone,” Thompson
explains. “Estrogen sensitizes
your body to insulin so
you don’t need as
much, and it stays
nice and low.”
This allows you
to burn fat more
easily. But when
estrogen levels fall
as we near meno-
pause, “we’re more
vulnerable to the effects
of insulin. A s levels rise, our
body starts socking away fat.”
Hormone expert Sara Gottfried,
M.D., author of Brain Body Diet,
adds that estrogen also influences
metabolic rate, “so lower levels
add to the problem, making it
harder to burn of f what we eat.”
The Bright Line solution:
Skip sugar, flour and snacks—
three culprits that make insu-
lin soar. So even if you’re not
Tip!
An (^) easy way to avoid
temptation: “Order
groceries online,” says
dieter Sonja Waters, down
(^168) pounds. “You save
enough on impulse
buys to cover the
delivery charge!”
Simple foods in simple combos help balance
hormones to speed off age-related flab
Woma n’s World^ 8/12/19 (^23)
MING AUTOMATIC
Learn more in the
book Bright Line
Eating or go to
BrightLine
Eating.comStir together oats, milk, seeds, extract
and spices. Refrigerate overnight. Topwith nuts and fruit and enjoy. (^1) serving
1 oz. old-fashioned oats
(^4) oz. coconut milk
(^1) ⁄ (^2) oz. flax (^) or chia se
eds
(^1) ⁄ (^4) tsp. vanilla ex
tract
(^1) ⁄ 4 tsp. cinnamon
(^1) ⁄ 4 tsp. cardamom
(optional)
(^1) ⁄ (^2) oz. nuts or unsw
eetened
toasted coconut
(^6) oz. fresh fruit
Coconut-Flax
Overnight Oats
This filling breakfast treat is
hormone-balancing and bursting
with (^) flavor!