Nagina Abdullah shares her expertise on weight loss and natural weight loss

Wendy Valentine: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the midlife makeover show. I’m Wendy Valentine and today we have a fantastic guest who’s here to help us tackle one of the biggest challenges in midlife. Da da da. Weight loss. Hello. Meet Nagina Abdullah, a brilliant weight loss coach and the founder of the top rated website masalabadi.com. with a degree in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley and an MBA from NYU, Nagina left her successful career as a management consultant to share her expertise in boosting metabolism and natural weight loss. She’s helped over 1500 women in midlife shed those stubborn pounds and create lasting lifestyle changes. Today, Nagina will introduce us to her upcoming five day metabolism boost for midlife women that helps you burn fat by combining and adding foods that naturally increase metabolism. If what used to work for you no longer does. Been there, done that. This episode is a must listen. So grab a comfy seat like mine right here and get ready to take some notes as we dive into this empowering conversation with Nakina.

Wendy is doing well, how are you doing

Nagina Abdullah: I’m doing.

Wendy Valentine: Welcome, welcome.

Nagina Abdullah: Hello. How are you? I’m so happy to be here with you. Wendy.

Wendy Valentine: Did I say your name right?

Nagina Abdullah: Yes, you got it.

Wendy Valentine: Okay, good. I mean, even though you had just told me, but I was like, wait, did I say that right?

Nagina Abdullah: Nikki?

Wendy Valentine: Nah. Nikina. Yes. It’s so pretty.

Nagina Abdullah: Oh, thank you. Thanks so much.

What inspired you to get into weight loss specifically for midlife women

Wendy Valentine: Yeah, I was sharing with you before we, hit record that weight loss is one of my most top downloaded episodes. Next to divorce. Two different losses, but can be gains as well.

Nagina Abdullah: Yes, definitely. You feel better after each one, so.

Wendy Valentine: Yes, exactly. I know I did. So what inspired you to get into weight loss specifically for midlife women?

Nagina Abdullah: Yes, well, I had actually had, so many struggles in my own life, and that is what led me here. I had tried every single diet that was out there. I tried Atkins, I tried weight watchers, nutrisystem, and I would lose ten to twelve pounds. But I never got to a place where I felt good about myself. I felt like I was in my best body and whenever I would lose that amount, I would just start eating all the foods that I had learned to restrict myself from in order to lose that weight. So the weight would just come back on, plus bring some friends, because I would just be like, oh, my God, I don’t want to go through that again. So I had gone through this cycling for my entire life where I had uncontrollable sugar cravings. And I just felt like I just wasn’t meant to be slim. I wasn’t meant to be fit because I worked so hard, but you could never see on the outside what I was doing on the inside, which was a lot of work. and so what happened is that I actually, I have a degree in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley. And after I had my two children, I decided at that time I wasn’t my heaviest weight, and I didn’t have time to lose and gain the same ten to 15 pounds, and I had more weight to lose, like, I wanted to lose at least 20 pounds or more. and so I started researching the scientific journals I had access to for my degree, and I started seeing that all those diets I was following that were restriction based were not the only way to lose weight. There were other ways to lose weight, which means things like adding foods to increase your metabolism, adding ingredients that get your metabolism going. And so I started using these combinations of food, foods, adding certain things that we’ll talk about more. things as easy as some spices that I started adding. And so what became so amazing is that I was loving what I was eating. It was tasting so good. And in nine months, I stepped on my scale. I’d been stepping on it, but I couldn’t believe what was going on. Within nine months of doing these combinations and metabolism boosting, I lost 40 pounds in that nine months. And I mentioned it.

Wendy Valentine: Awesome. thank you. You know what, though? What it sounds like, but you weren’t having to restrict. You were actually feeding yourself even more. You were just feeding yourself better foods or the foods that would work for your body and for weight loss.

Nagina Abdullah: Exactly, Wendy. That’s exactly what happened, is that I started adding more. I started loving what I was eating. And in fact, every day when I would have dinner, I would think, oh, my God, my food tastes so good and I feel so satisfied. There’s no way I could be losing weight because it was like, opposite than what I had heard. So this is why this is such a different way of losing weight. Because now it’s been over twelve years that I lost that weight. I came into midlife, and midlife is, as we know, there is a lot of hard stuff that goes on in midlife. Like, it is not about eating less and it is not about moving more. Those are not the only two things. There are so many other things. And in fact, it is more about eating more, getting the right movement, but being conscious of other things that are happening in our body. And so I just found it was so, so challenging at midlife that it wasn’t about calories in, calories out it was more about blood sugar regulation, which we’ll talk about. And that was a real game changer. And so that’s what I started continuing to do. So now it’s been over 13 years that I’ve kept that 40 pounds off and navigated through midlife and have helped now over 1500 women to lose the weight that they want, but most of all to create a healthy lifestyle. And that is the key. So you’re not yo yoing up and down.

Wendy Valentine: I mean, you think about it, it can be so stressful trying to lose weight. I’ve actually heard, I don’t know, there was statistic or something like that of people that are gaining weight and losing weight, gaining weight and losing weight. And the stress that you put on your body just by, you know, jumping from one fad diet to another is worse on your body, then if you get to that point where you’re like, okay, I’ve lost the weight, now I can maintain, and you can use that energy towards doing other amazing things in your life than concentrating on the next fad diet.

Nagina Abdullah: That is so true, because when you are in the position, like I was, where I was, I had weight that I wanted to lose. All I would think about every day when I woke up, when I walked around, when I put on my clothes, when I sat down, was my weight. It was all consuming. And it wasn’t only about appearance, though, of course, that was a part of it. But as we’re getting into midlife, it was more about how I felt. Like I didn’t want to feel tired, I didn’t want to feel lethargic. I didn’t want to feel bloated. And so the moment that my weight came off, it was like a whole new area of life opened up because I could think about so many other things. But I never actually believed I would get to that point because I had stayed in that same place for so many decades. So, this can change. This can change. And that’s the first message I want to share.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah, exactly. It definitely could change. And, and isn’t that interesting how, like, sometimes, no matter what is our life that we’re wanting to change anything, right? A career, a relationship, up our health. And sometimes we just want the motivation. Some of us are lacking the motivation, but many of us have the motivation. Like, yes, I want to lose weight, yes, I want to, you know, be healthier, but it’s like getting the know how, like, of what to do. Like, okay, I’m motivated, but it’s not working. So this is, what I love about this, it’s. And, we talked about this before, it’s like less fluff and more formula. Like, give me the steps. Like just give me, tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Right?

Nagina Abdullah: Yes.

Wendy Valentine: Just sit back, relax, and then enjoy the benefits of it.

Nagina Abdullah: Yes, exactly, exactly. And you know, one of the main, things that is very important to do differently in midlife because our weight is at a different place. Like when we were in our twenties and thirties, there are certain things that worked. And many of us are noticing in our forties, fifties and beyond, those things don’t work anymore. They actually, even if you wanted to go on a diet, that diet actually no longer works. So there’s a lot of reasons for that. So we need to just find those new approaches because it doesn’t mean you can’t live in your best body. It doesn’t mean you can’t feel amazing and confident every single day.

Wendy Valentine: Is that because, good old perimenopause or menopause? Or is that because our hormones are changing? Is that why? Yeah.

Nagina Abdullah: So that is a very large part of it.

Once you’re post menopause, your hormones are down

So, like, because our hormones are starting to fluctuate, usually in our forties, sometimes earlier, and then really go down in our fifties, which is the typical common age for menopause. Once you’re post menopause, your hormones are down. So what that means is that you no longer have testosterone. So you have a low amount of testosterone, a much lower. So you can’t build muscle as easily. Your estrogen and progesterone is down. That is helping you, it’s helping distribute your fat, to your hips and your b*** when you have it, but when you don’t have it, it goes onto our stomach. So many women are noticing that they have more fat on their belly. It’s not that you’re doing anything wrong. We keep faulting ourselves. Like, maybe I’m not eating right, maybe I’m eating too much. Actually, you’re not. You need to eat the right amount. But it’s because of our hormonal fluctuations. And then the second part of it is, has to do with the muscle mass decreasing. When our body becomes more fat than muscle, then that means our metabolism goes down because muscle burns more calories and more energy than fat does. So these are two of the main things that are happening. And then the third one is something that is very, it’s the first step to change, and it’s one of the biggest things we can do to start losing weight in a healthy way. And that’s. It’s natural to become more insulin, resistant when we go through perimenopause and then menopause. And what that means is, and many of us have noticed this, that we can’t burn carbs and sugar as efficiently. So we used to be able to eat certain things, and we were fine. Now we eat it and we realize we’ve gone up on the scale. We’re feeling bloated for three to five days, and it might go, it might not, and we’re like, what did we do? I didn’t do anything differently.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah, exactly. Or sometimes you’re even eating less of those carbs and you’re. And you’re actually gaining more than what you used to, maybe ten years ago.

Nagina Abdullah: Absolutely. Like, you could be doing the same thing and maybe eating less, and you could see that you’re gaining five to ten pounds, and it’s very normal. And. But it doesn’t have to be like this. It doesn’t have to stay like this, but it is very frustrating. And, the thing is, just to know that this is happening in our body is very empowering so that we can stop faulting ourselves for doing something wrong, but just learn what to do differently than we were doing before. So,

Why do sugar cravings increase as we get older

Wendy Valentine: So, yeah, one thing I noticed for me is probably, like, looking back, probably when I was closer to 40, the sugar. I used to get really bad sugar cravings. And it didn’t help that I was a french pastry chef.

Nagina Abdullah: Give me.

Wendy Valentine: Gimme, gimme. So is there a reason for that? I mean, why. Why the sugar cravings increase as we get older?

Nagina Abdullah: Yes. So that’s another hormonal change that’s happening. So we have a hormone, leptin, which. Leptin is a hunger hormone, and it’s increasing. So while these other hormones are decreasing, that one is increasing and it’s creating more hunger cravings that are often coming off in sugar, coming off in the form of sugar cravings, and we just have more of an appetite. That can happen for some people. Absolutely. So it’s like we are in this perfect storm of, wanting to eat more, having more sugar cravings, having more belly fat, and staying stuck at the same weight, not being able to lose it. So we need to change this because it’s just not healthy for our bodies to carry around this extra weight. It’s not helpful to be feeling like you’re stuck and you have low energy. So it’s all changes, hormonal changes, muscle mass changes, and blood sugar changes that really are a result of this. But, what I have seen with my clients and with myself, what changed everything for me as the first step that was taking control of my blood sugar. And that’s something that we can do at home with regular food just by actually no longer restricting ourselves, because when we are in midlife, we need the right amount of food so that we can fuel our bodies for the muscle mass that it’s able to create and to maintain what we have to fuel the hormones that we do have. When we eat less, we’re not actually making some of those hormones, even our thyroid hormones. Many women will find that they have hashimoto’s in midlife. and some of that comes, not all of it, but some of it can be helped by eating enough of the right food.

Wendy Valentine: I guess that’s the key, right? It’s the right food.

Nagina Abdullah: You got it.

Wendy Valentine: Yes.

Nagina Abdullah: You got the code words. Actually, wendy, it’s not just eating more of the. Even though french pastry, that sounds amazing, and you absolutely should have that in your life and when you choose to, but. But that’s like a. Something that you can have once in a while. but if you’re eating the right foods, you’ll find that you’re going to feel full and satisfied. And those foods, and when I call them right, they’re nutrient dense. They have lots of nutrition. They usually have protein. They have carbs that don’t burn really quickly. They keep you stable and don’t elevate your blood sugar. When you eat these right foods, they’re naturally lower calorie, but they’re higher in fiber and protein, so they keep you full for longer. And so you actually will find, if this can be even imagined for some people, that if someone’s having sugar cravings, they will actually disappear when you’re eating the right foods in the right quantities.

Wendy Valentine: That is so wild that you said that, because just the other day I was thinking, you know what? I haven’t had any sugar cravings in a while. Like, even just for a little piece of chocolate, if it was sitting in front of me, I’m like, I could take it or leave it, you know, but. And I’ve. One thing that I’ve changed is increasing my protein. I’ve been trying to get protein in my diet. Yeah. And, I mean, I’ve always said, like, 80%. It’s. It’s like you. You’ll go to the gym and you see people that are there, and it’s great that they’re there and they’re trying. But why are they not changing? They’re there every single day doing the same hardcore workouts. And I’ve always said, 80% of it. But I think this is my opinion. It’s what, what you’re doing. What you’re eating.

Nagina Abdullah: Yes.

Wendy Valentine: Not so much what you’re doing inside the gym as it is what you’re eating or not eating.

Nagina Abdullah: Yes. You’re so right. You’re so right on it. It is 80% of what we eat is health. that’s what increases our metabolism. If we are working out without having the right way of eating. It doesn’t matter about those workouts. It really doesn’t. Honestly, it’s like a lot of extra time you’ve got if you optimize your diet and then add on working out. Like, I, I think of it as a layered system. Start with your food, add on workouts. Make sure that you have the right sleep, stress control, and hormone management. But if you start with food, you’re going to go really far.

September is a natural time to start getting in shape, right

Wendy Valentine: That’s such a good point, because I was just thinking, like, going back to the gym scenario. January 1, what do we all see? Everyone’s, like, flocking to the gym, right? They start at the gym instead of starting to. In the kitchen, in the refrigerator. And just like you said, good point in getting a good night’s rest. And it’s like, if you start with those basics of, as a human being, and just like in the blue zones, these people that live to 100, and they were a good, healthy weight, they weren’t, they didn’t belong to gyms. They just simply moved their bodies and they ate well. So it’s like, start with what to eat and what not to eat first. Like, get that, get that foundation there first, then move up to, okay, now I can go to the gym. Because you think about the amount of time, just like you said, like, the amount of time you’ll spend at the gym. Hours and hours where most of your progress can be made just with what you’re eating in a, you know, a 20 minutes meal.

Nagina Abdullah: Oh, exactly. And, you know, January 1 is a time also. September is a natural. It’s kind of like the new January. I actually see more people getting the themselves in shape because it’s post summer and you don’t need to have that freedom as much. And you want to get focused before the holidays come. That’s really important before all the holiday parties and the eating. And then, you know, oh, my gosh, what’s going to happen if I don’t get myself in a better place. But the thing is that this becomes a lifestyle when you start doing it in the right way. And you don’t even have to worry about all the times of the year because you’re just, like, hundred percent in shape all the time. And I know that sounds so. Just uncommon, but that’s actually what we’re striving for in midlife, because we don’t want to go through diets anymore, and our body’s not responding to them.

Protein has helped you decrease your sugar cravings, according to research

So, so, so, like you mentioned, protein has helped you decrease your sugar cravings. I’m so happy that you are adding more protein that you’re finding that correlation, because it is so surprising how, like, I used to. I used to just label myself as someone that was born with sugar cravings, that somebody that needed. That needed chocolate, that needed sweets because I had so much of it. But then once you start adding protein and adding the right amounts, which is around 30 grams of protein at each meal, which is not that hard, you just. But you just have to think about it. You have to make sure that you’re doing it, because most people are doing half of that, if not none of it, at meals.

Wendy Valentine: Oh, yeah. I mean, they’re lucky if they’re getting 30 in a day in a much less per meal. Right? Yeah. I mean, depending on, like, if you’re, you know, vegan or not. But it’s like, I think even a piece of salmon is, like, roughly 30 grams of protein. I mean, you can get a lot of protein in tofu and beans. Like, it’s. Yeah, it’s amazing. Like, if you start to look and really observe what you’re eating, it’s like, oh, okay.

Nagina Abdullah: Yes.

Wendy Valentine: And it doesn’t take long. I mean, what’s. And I know, you know, this course about cells and biology, but it’s amazing how quickly the body can turn around. Like, if you give it. If you give it the fuel that it needs, it’ll be like, oh, yeah, I will take you to some places, you know? But, I mean, it can make such a quick turnaround to where you can literally start to feel and see changes within a few days.

Nagina Abdullah: That is so true. And, what’s happening there is that when we give ourselves protein, also, if you can add veggies, like, I call it tasty veggies, because veggies are full of fiber, but a lot of people don’t like the taste of veggies. So when you add on some spices, like, for example, turmeric or coriander or cumin, cumin has been shown to burn belly fat. And coriander decreases water retention, so it decreases bloating. And that they also taste good and they’re not spicy. So you sprinkle that on your veggies, roast them, have them with your salmon, your chicken, your beef, your tofu, or any type of other vegan protein. And what will happen is that your gut health is also changing because you’re feeding your body different foods. So your gut starts wanting those foods instead. When you’re feeding your body sugar. Sugar is a drug. So when we feed our body sugar, it wants more sugar. So when you start replacing it, but not taking food out more, like replacing food with better foods, then you change your whole entire body and you start craving healthy food, start craving vegetables. So, it’s like, it’s so amazing. And the thing is, though, this can also reverse if you start taking, like, very quickly as well. If you take out protein in for one, one or two days and you don’t have any vegetables, you’ll find that the sugar cravings come back with power. And so, you know, and I want to share this because this is why what we eat impacts our cravings so much. And we can change our cravings, but we can also allow our sugar cravings to be stronger by not feeding ourselves proactively and getting ahead of these sugar cravings.

Wendy Valentine: So, plus, too, like, I always, you know, I’ve started to play around a little bit with how to cook different vegetables because I would kind of get bored even with my own stuff, you know? But nowadays, like, there’s so many, like, websites and cookbooks and. Oh, I mean, you can just scroll on Facebook and get a. Get a recipe for something.

Nagina Abdullah: Oh, my gosh.

Wendy Valentine: Or on Pinterest, you know, but, like, it’s fine. Like, once you really get into it. And it’s fun to explore the different types of food and spices and. And that’s one thing I’ve been adding more to, is the spices. And.

Nagina Abdullah: What did you say?

Wendy Valentine: Was it cumin and turmeric?

Nagina Abdullah: Well, so cumin and coriander go really well with vegetables as well as turmeric? Yes. And turmeric is anti inflammatory. so that’s really helping to decrease, like, inflammation in your gut, in your joints, and so many things. And it’s natural. When you use the spice, all you have to do is use half a teaspoon and also pair it with a little sprinkle of black pepper, which increases the absorption of turmeric in your body by, like, 2000%. Yes, but I. You know, I love to, in the morning, use, turmeric in my eggs, because eggs are already yellow. They are. Turmeric doesn’t really have a flavor. It’s an earthy flavor. So I put some of that into my eggs. Just a little half a teaspoon. I sprinkle on black pepper. But here’s the key.

When your blood sugar spikes, your body releases insulin. And usually it’s in our belly fat

I want to share this breakfast. That’s really helpful. And I want to kind of bust a myth about what’s not actually healthy. So we were talking about 30 grams, of protein at each meal. So two eggs. For those people that eat eggs, two eggs is a common meal to eat for breakfast, but each egg is only 6 grams of protein. So if you have two eggs, you’re getting 12 grams of protein. Then you’re adding on a, usual breakfast, maybe toast, maybe fruit. There’s no additional protein in there. And what will happen is in a couple hours, you’ll find that you’re hungry and you may not have anything prepared. And that’s where the sugar cravings start creeping up. So it’s because you didn’t proactively feed yourself. When you proactively get ahead of your hunger, your sugar cravings won’t be there, but they will be there when you don’t give yourself enough protein. And it’s kind of counterintuitive, but when you feel those strong sugar cravings, it’s actually your body’s craving and crying out for more protein. But you waited too long, so it feels like sugar. But if you get ahead of it and have that protein. So some ways of doing that at breakfast is to have the two eggs. Two eggs is enough because it has the amount of fat that’s good for one serving. but if you add on a half to one cup of liquid egg whites for those that have that available, or having greek yogurt, which is around 20 grams of greek yogurt and two eggs and berries and cinnamon, is a great breakfast. Yeah, I did hear that.

Wendy Valentine: Cinnamon. Cinnamon’s a good, fat burner, isn’t it?

Nagina Abdullah: So cinnamon is amazing. Yes. You’re on. Yeah. Cinnamon. What cinnamon does is it helps lower your blood sugar, and so it keeps your blood sugar, like sugar elevates your blood sugar, but cinnamon has a sweetness. So it’s like giving you the, the feeling of sugar, the sweetness of sugar, but not as sharp. It’s more natural, but it helps bring down your blood sugar. And so the reason blood sugar is so important, and it’s actually more important to look at, than just calories in, calories out, movement only. Like, it’s putting all these things together. When your blood sugar spikes, your body responds by releasing insulin. And so insulin is released and takes that sugar out of your blood and has to store it, and so it stores it in your fat cells. And usually it’s in our belly fat is where it’s going to, and then that’s exacerbated in midlife when we’re already gaining. When we’re already gaining belly fat, regardless of our blood sugar. but blood sugar can help to lower that amount of belly fat that’s stored. So the key is that to be aware of what are these foods that are causing my blood sugar to spike, because every time it goes, up, you’ll feel that it comes down because you’ll usually have low energy soon after, or you’ll feel hungrier soon after, even though you just ate. And so those are foods that are elevating your blood sugar too quickly. And we want to switch those foods out for other foods that keep our blood sugar stable so that our insulin is not being released and storing that fat. And, you know, when I did this, this switch in my chemistry that was created by food pairing, like pairing certain foods that helped me not, spike my blood sugar, that’s when all that fat came. And women, that are in their forties, fifties, sixties and seventies are, once they bounce their blood sugar in this way, they start losing weight faster and in a healthier way than they’ve ever done before, and they see why it will stay off, and it does stay off because they’re full and satisfied by all the foods that they’re eating.

Are there certain foods that will definitely just spike your blood sugar

Wendy Valentine: Are there certain foods that will definitely just spike your blood sugar?

Nagina Abdullah: Yes. So a lot of foods, and I’ll tell you a few foods where these are actually hidden sugars. So they’re like, they’re marketed as healthy foods, but they’re actually, like, they’re healthier than, like a chocolate croissant. Yeah, you’re choosing both. But in midlife, we’re, you know, we want to be our healthiest versions, and we actually have, unfortunately, less room for error in midlife because our bodies are so sensitive. So, some of those foods that spike blood sugar that we think are healthy, especially because I know a lot of people that are listening to this are trying to be healthy, and you’re wondering what is going on, why I this not working. So, granola bars. I mean, if you just look at the sugar on it, it’s going to say 25, 30 grams of sugar. 25 grams to 35 grams is ideal for an entire day if you would like to be, like, really, really focused on that. but a lot of these packaged goods are 25 to 35 grams in one serving. So that’s going to spike your blood sugar really high. so a lot of breads that are just like white breads, if they’re not high fiber or if they’re like, sourdough breads are great. Rye breads are great. But if you’re having a regular white bread or even a whole wheat bread, that’s going to spike your blood sugar, because what we need in our breads is more fiber. Fiber slows down the spikes. Fiber slows it down as well as protein as well as healthy fats. So if you’re looking for those foods and pairing it with these foods that spike your blood sugar, it’ll be better. But it’s also nice to kind of, like, replace these foods with healthier foods. one other one I want to mention that is a myth for healthy foods. is smoothies.

Wendy Valentine: Oh, yes.

Nagina Abdullah: Yeah. So, like, smoothies are the health. It seems so healthy. It feels so good. If you even go out or you make your own smoothie and you’re like, you know, ordering it with all the different fruit and all the different combinations, and you feel so good. So the thing is, smoothies can be healthy, but most of the smoothies that you’re purchasing outside or maybe you even find recipes for it, they don’t have any protein in them, and they are focused on fruit. So fruit is fine. But if, you are adding a lot of fruit without pairing it with protein, you’re going to get a spike in blood sugar, and you’re also going to feel really hungry pretty quickly because.

Wendy Valentine: They’Ll just go right through you. Yeah, I mean, I do a lot of veggie juicing, but then I also will have some protein with it as well. and if I do have fruit in my veggie juice, then it’s usually like a very low sugar. Like, I tried to do green, you know, green apple or maybe, oh, God, I can’t think. I don’t very rarely will I add lemon, maybe might be in there, but very little fruit. But I was laughing because I was thinking about, like, the people that will go to Starbucks or McDonald’s. Oh, I just got a smoothie.

Nagina Abdullah: Like, like, they’re doing m. Like the.

Wendy Valentine: And some of, if you look, some of them can have, like, 130 grams of sugar. Like, it’s nuts. But, like, when you.

Nagina Abdullah: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: And I’m so glad you brought that up about even, like, yogurts or salad dressings. Like, if you start to look at those labels and see how much sugar is in them, it is nuts. So you have to really be careful. And again, just like salad dressing, where you think like, oh, I’m doing so good. I’m going to buy some salad dressing for my, for my wonderful salad. And then you’re pouring, like, 30 grams of sugar on there.

Nagina Abdullah: Absolutely. It’s like you’re trying to be healthy, but these are myths that are being, propagated, and it’s all about being more aware of what’s actually causing that fat gain. So what we’re trying to do to quickly reduce our fat gain, especially in midlife, this is more important than ever, because as we talked about earlier, we’re becoming more insulin resistance, or our body’s not able to process these and burn it, so it’s actually storing it even more. So that’s part of the things that we can do that really create a change is understanding where sugar is hiding and then also pairing any sugars that we enjoy or any carbs that break down to sugar. I mean, all carbs break down to sugar. So it’s about understanding what are the healthy carbs that I can eat. and healthy carbs are some of the breads I mentioned. Rye, sourdough bread. ezekiel bread is also another one. Also adding beans and lentils, adding more of those. Trying to find, like, a mexican salad or a mediterranean meal, but also making sure it has, protein in it. And I’m saying that because those are cuisines that have a lot of beans or lentils in them, including indian food. yeah, so good.

Wendy Valentine: Actually, last night, here in Portugal now, and last night, I had cuban food, and it had beans and chickpeas and, oh, my God, it was so good, and they didn’t make it. I said, the waitress that says she’s like, actually, cuban food is usually not very spicy. We add spice, but it’s not spicy. And I was like, okay, but it was so good. And sometimes it’s nice to change up the different styles of food. Mediterranean or indian? Indian. So, yes, I wish I could handle it.

Nagina Abdullah: Yes.

Wendy Valentine: My best friend is from India, and she go out to eat, she’s like, she orders a, five plus, where they’ll ask you, like, levels twice. I’m like, I’ll take a negative five. I’m like, but it’s the foods itself, right, that are so good for you. But I always find, like, I burn, like, really good. Like, I can feel, like, my metabolism, like, really kicking in, though, when I eat foods like that.

Nagina Abdullah: Oh, yes. And so a lot of that is the spices as well. First of all, the food is the main thing. So those. That sounds like a great combination.

The fat burning food framework involves having protein and healthy carbs

So you’re using, you’re having protein, but you’re also having healthier carbs. A lot of times, beans and lentils are characterized as proteins, but they have their carbs that have protein in them. I would not consider them an entire protein because then you’ll find that you’re going to stay stuck. Your carbs are going to be increasing in a way that you can’t burn in that fat. So, but then also layering on some spices that don’t have to be spicy, it does boost your metabolism. So we talked about cumin, coriander. you don’t have to do a hot pepper, like cayenne pepper. You don’t have to do that. You could do paprika as a milder version, turmeric, a blend of spices, like the durian masala or five spice powder. Like any. Anything, even oregano, has benefits. So, you know, using those things are really, really key. And just knowing that when you’re having a carb, try to. There are healthy carbs. So this is, you know, I never would advocate taking out a food group from our, from our diet, but it’s more about knowing the types of foods to have. So we talked about proteins, we talked about tasty veggies and then also having healthy carbs, which are also things like sweet potatoes or starchy vegetables. And that’s, you know, putting those together. I call this the fat burning food framework, where you have a, protein with a veggie at every single meal. Or you can replace the veggie with low sugar fruit for breakfast. Like, you could have berries or two tangerines for breakfast, but have that 30 grams of protein with the tasty veggies or low sugar fruit, and then either have. Have a healthy carb or a healthy fat. So a healthy fat are things like, they’re in your eggs. Healthy fats are in salmon, in beef, you can add a half of an avocado. But I was gonna say that.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

Nagina Abdullah: Yeah. So if you either have, like, I like to advise doing a healthy carb at lunch and then doing a healthy fat at breakfast and dinner, along with the other items that I talked about. So the protein, and the veggies, because then you’re really getting the right amount of everything. And one myth I wanna also share that I’ve seen so often in women in midlife is that we don’t need to really count our calories on any of these foods. The protein or veggies. Usually it’s about getting more. But the one food to look at that you’re eating the right amount and you’re by mistake, maybe eating too much, is healthy fats. and this is the one area that I see that midlife women are. It’s actually blocking their weight loss because they’re mistakenly eating too much, because they know that it’s health. They’re healthy foods, but they’re not aware of how calorically dense they are, which means they really add on a lot of extra calories in, like, one small bite. And so before you know it, you’ve eaten so many more calories. And calories do matter, but it’s, you know, we’re also talking about blood sugar, staying even. But you also don’t want to eat, you know, 500 or thousand more calories than your body needs to lose weight. You want to eat, like, at the right place. So we’ve always, you know, will, it’s common to learn that, like, peanut butter is healthy, which it is. Avocados are healthy, which it is.

Wendy Valentine: Fun sugar.

Nagina Abdullah: Yeah, but there, well, there’s a lot of fat in them and a lot of those. So I have the mantra, which is fat three times a day, which means three servings of fat. So breakfast, dinner, and a snack is one way you could do it, but you could mix it up in different ways. And each serving is around 14 grams of fat. And so what that means is, like, if you look at a bag of nuts, or if you look at peanut butter, it’ll always tell you the servings that are 14 grams. That’s just known as, like, a standard fat, serving. So if you have two tablespoons of peanut butter, that’s 14 grams of fat, that’s one serving, that is around 180 calories, which is fine. We need calories. Yeah, but it’s really easy, and I’ve done this myself, it’s really easy to have no idea how much you’re eating and by mistake, eat like, a fourth cup or a half cup, you know, or like what? Meaning, like four tablespoons or six tablespoons, because you don’t realize it. It tastes so good and you don’t feel how full it makes you right away. So if there’s one thing that you are looking at in terms of making sure you’re eating the not overeating, it’s the fat. So just look at the nuts that you’re eating and make sure you have the right amount. make sure you just have two eggs at one time and half an avocado, for example. But then add on more protein. Add on more veggies. Have the carbs. Like, the healthy carbs are fine. You’re not going to want to eat too many of them because you’re already having your protein and veggies recommended to have them first, and then you won’t have the craving for that many carbs. So, like, what we’re talking about, and then add the flavors and the spices on top. and so what this is going to do is it’s going to help you stop doing what so many midlife women are doing, and that’s keeping us stuck. and that would be not eating enough. And I recommend that you eat more in the ways that we have really broken down so far. eat more and you’ll find that your scale will start moving, you’ll find that your waist will start shrinking. And, yes, it’s counterintuitive, but it works. It works every single time. And you’ll find that you’re not as hungry, but you’re actually not eating that many calories because the food you’re eating are just so filling for you.

Wendy Valentine: So. And healthier. I mean, I didn’t hear you mention, like, lay’s potato chips or fruity pebbles or anything inside a box, right?

Nagina Abdullah: Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: These are all whole foods. That’s one of the reasons I love living over here in Portugal is that they have a lot of natural, you know, like, the. They grow a lot of their fruits and veggies here, and they’re actually have restrictions, like, for GMO, they don’t have, like, they don’t have any additives and chemicals, so that does help. But, all the more reason, like, why you stay away from anything that’s in the boxes, because they add so much crap in there. It’s awful. And, like, like, some of the. Some of the chemicals that are in there, it’s like, I don’t even know what that is, but that cannot be good for my body.

Nagina Abdullah: Right.

Wendy Valentine: I. So I always say I’m like, just stick to the good whole foods. Stick to aisle one in the grocery store.

Nagina Abdullah: Yes, yes, absolutely.

Wendy Valentine: And the biggest aisle there.

Nagina Abdullah: It’s so true. It’s so true. And the thing is, you know, I want to, like, really bring this to a place of why we should do this, because, this, this is, it’s easier to get the chips and the fruity pebbles. It’s easier just to warm up something versus, like, actually making your own meal. But this comes to not about losing weight or not about, like, trying to meet this goal and trying to be so rigid to do it. You don’t have to be rigid when you follow something as easy as a framework. But this comes to us taking care of ourselves and giving ourselves self care and self love, and this is, that’s what it’s all about. And when we look at ourselves in this way versus saying, oh, why haven’t you done everything you said?

When we negatively talk to ourselves, we’re not going to reach goal

Why aren’t you following all the rules? That is too much stress and pressure, and we’re never going to respond to that. It’s actually psychologically shown when we’re negatively talking to ourselves, we’re not going to actually reach that goal. So how do we switch the conversation and make it positive and uplifting, to ourselves? Meaning if you end up having a pastry, okay, that’s all right.

Wendy Valentine: It’s not going to totally throw you off. Right, exactly.

Nagina Abdullah: And maybe you wanted to because your friend was an italian pastry chef and you’re like, let’s make, let’s try this. and you decided to do that. Like, yeah, go for that. But it doesn’t mean that you’re breaking the rules, because it’s not about rules. It’s a lifestyle. Like, there’s a range of how it can be. Some days we’re eating healthy, and some days it didn’t, it wasn’t in our life that day, you know, and so.

Wendy Valentine: Exactly. Yeah. And I’m glad you said that because it’s not about trying to be perfect and every single meal has got to be, but it’s a lifestyle. Like, once you get to that point where you’re like, oh, okay, I know what foods to grab and what foods I should leave behind, and then, so, yeah, if you have a piece of cake, you have a piece of cake, but it’s not going to, like, totally wreck you. Right? And I always say I’m like, eat for the 90 year old self that you want to be like your 90 year old self. You want her to thank you and go, oh, my God, thank you so much for taking care of me. Right. The, better you can take care of yourself today, the healthier that you’ll be tomorrow and the next tomorrow, etcetera.

Nagina Abdullah: Exactly. It doesn’t have to be a race or a sprint to, like, look a certain way for this event or this wedding. Yeah. That could motivate you, and that’s great. Like, use it as a motivation, but then more. It’s more that you’re taking steps in that right direction, and you’re eating real foods, you’re learning about how to make it taste good, because that way, we. We’re doing it for ourselves and because we want to take care of ourselves, because that’s the thing that’s going to last. That’s the lasting reason that we’ll. We’ll continue a healthy lifestyle and stop dieting, and we’ll permanently get off diets.

Wendy Valentine: Yeah.

The five day metabolism boost is starting very, very soon

So, tell us about the, Well, okay. Wait. Five day metabolism boost? Is that what it’s called?

Nagina Abdullah: Yes.

Wendy Valentine: Yes.

Nagina Abdullah: Oh, yes. You got it right. I am so excited. So that, five day metabolism boost is starting very, very soon. It is a live five days where I’m going to be teaching every single day about, how to get your metabolism high as a woman in midlife, specifically for midlife women, I’m going to be starting off on day one with one of the most powerful lessons, which is the four part metabolism boosting morning routine, where I talk to you about how to get your day going in the morning. It’s very simple, including things like what spice to add to your coffee to get your metabolism activated. my infused debloating water. That even when you have one glass of it in the morning, you will debloat your belly and you’ll feel it and see it. It’s really quick, really quick results. I’ll talk about breakfast options and then how to get an anti inflammatory boost. That’s my four part metabolism boosting morning routine. I’m going to talk about the fat burning food framework and exactly examples of how to put together your lunches and dinners. And then one of my best days is day four, where I talk about how to get off, sugar without feeling tired or restricted. And I’m going to show you how to pair your foods so that you can eat some of your favorite foods when you pair it with other foods that are going to keep your blood sugar down. And this is very powerful, and it really opens your eye up to how you can get off dieting permanently and just learn how to eat in a better way. So it’s gonna be five days totally free. And, Wendy, I know you have the, link, that, people can join, but I am so excited to teach, and I’ll be there live looking for you in the comments, to share with me what your questions are.

Wendy Valentine: Make sure you tell her I sent you.

Nagina Abdullah: yes, definitely. Yeah.

Wendy Valentine: So I’ll have the link in the show notes. And then see today when this airs will be September 5. And tomorrow’s the last day to sign up, right? Yes, September 6. So make sure. Yeah, make sure you sign up for that now. And it’s free?

Nagina Abdullah: Yeah, it’s free. It starts on Monday, September 9. And just sign up as soon as you can. And you will. You will. You will find it. and there’s going to be replays every day as well, so. Yes.

Wendy Valentine: I love it. I love what you’re doing. You’re helping so many women.

Nagina Abdullah: Oh, thank you, Wendy. So are you. So.

Wendy Valentine: I’m trying. I’m trying. I shared with you before I finally finished my book. Yeah. Awesome.

Nagina Abdullah: Ah.

Wendy Valentine: Good feeling. Oh, my gosh. Yes. Changing lives here. Well, thank you so much. and where else can we find you?

Nagina Abdullah: Oh, yes. So you can find me at my website, masalabody.com. you’ll see hundreds of success stories of women in their midlife that have lost, all the weight they wanted to. But then also, it’s more than weight. It’s that they started feeling better, feeling more energy. They shrank their waist. They could wear clothes if they wanted to. And they had energy to hike and bike and play with their grandkids and do all the things that they wanted to. I’m, also on Instagram at masala body and on YouTube. Asalabadi. Ah.

Wendy Valentine: Ah. Thank you. This was awesome. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Nagina Abdullah: Thanks, Marie.

Wendy Valentine: All right, everyone, have a great day. Make sure you sign up for the five day metabolism boost.

Nagina Abdullah: Bye.