Metabolic flexibility expert Ben Azadi joins me to explain why cortisol, not diet alone, drives stubborn belly fat in midlife women.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
– Why cortisol, not just diet, is the real driver of stubborn belly and visceral fat in women over 35
– What role carbohydrates actually play in lowering cortisol load and supporting recovery
– Why the three hours before bed matter more for fat loss than your workout window
– How to time fasted workouts around your menstrual cycle for the best hormonal response
– Why sleep, steps and sunlight need to come before any diet or fasting protocol
– How increasing protein and building muscle mass changes your insulin sensitivity
– What’s really causing your bloating, and why it may have nothing to do with your gut
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Metabolic Flexibility, Cortisol Belly Fat And The Overnight Fat-Burning Sleep Window
10:08 Fasted Training By Menstrual Cycle, Sleep Foundations And Building Muscle For Insulin Sensitivity
20:55 Why Stress Causes Bloating Plus Ben’s Top Biohacks: Sauna, Red Light Therapy And Lymphatic Flow
27:00 Ben Azadi’s Ketoflex Revised Book And Where To Connect With Him
VALUABLE RESOURCES
– Ketoflex Revised (Ben’s new book)
– Ben Azadi’s website
– Follow Ben on Instagram
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ABOUT THE GUEST
Ben Azadi, FDN-P, is the founder of Keto Kamp and host of the award-winning Metabolic Freedom Podcast. After releasing 80 pounds and reversing his own metabolic dysfunction in 2008, he became known as “The Health Detective” for his root-cause approach to metabolic health. He’s a NYT best-selling author on ketosis, fasting and metabolic flexibility, including his latest book, Ketoflex Revised.
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👩💼 About Me:
Angela Foster is a corporate lawyer turned health and performance coach, keynote speaker, and creator of the BioSyncing:registered: Method. Host of the High Performance Health Podcast with 500+ episodes featuring world-leading experts in longevity, hormones, neuroscience, and female performance science.
The most accomplished women have everything handled on the outside, but their hormones, energy, and nervous system are quietly paying the price.
The old playbook stops working in midlife.
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source
If you want to see how to actually apply Ben Azadi's nutrition advice into a daily routine to fix your metabolism over 40, check out my step-by-step masterclass on the 7 science backed steps I took to get a flat stomach at 50 here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Jg_GMxypc&t=2s
Nutrition is how you lose fat.
sleep –> movement/steps –> sunshine –> whole food –> fasting / ketosis –> building muscle mass (strength training 3 to 4 times 30 minutes + protein intake + EAA + creatine)
– Vitamin G
– Sunlight
– Activity that you enjoy & doesnt feel like exercise
– Being present before (humming) and during meal
– Rebounding / jumping
Me watching this at 4am after getting up for a wee 🤦
Kill Cortisol
I did have trust issues with this guy because he looks so much like that knob head Tony Hinchcliff.
Dude, what are your credentials?
Based on the video, here are 5 actionable, simple habits for better health and fat loss:
1. The 3-hour kitchen closing rule: Stop eating at least 3 hours before bed to allow insulin levels to drop, which maximizes the body's natural overnight fat-burning window during deep delta sleep (09:27 – 10:13).
2. Prioritize morning sunlight: Getting sunlight in the morning helps sync your hormones with your circadian rhythm and supports melatonin production for better sleep (15:38 – 15:42; 16:04 – 16:08).
3. Increase protein intake: Aim for at least 30 grams of protein at every meal to activate muscle protein synthesis, which helps with satiety and supports building lean muscle mass (19:45 – 19:50; 22:20 – 23:18).
4. Practice mindful eating: To reduce bloating caused by chronic stress, eat your meals in a calm environment, avoid multitasking with phones or TV, chew thoroughly, and practice gratitude before eating to activate your parasympathetic nervous system (24:30 – 25:09).
5. Utilize 'Vitamin G' (Gratitude): Use the free biohack of gratitude to help lower cortisol levels and increase oxytocin production, which helps combat stress-related belly fat (26:06 – 26:25).
Yeah nah
"The kitchen is closed". I love that saying. I heard it from Trainer Joes a few years ago. I still get messages from him every 7:30p
Loved the knowledge shared! Planet Ayurveda's Female Health Support supports reproductive health naturally.
The gym can be critical for extremely out of shape people. A lot of equipment actually lets them lift less than body weight.
I'm 57, 5"7 and 165 lb. Work physical job 51 to 53 hrs / week. Eat twice per day. First meal around 7:30 am (I get up at 2am to go to work) chicken or salmon with any of the following sweet potatoes, jasmine rice cooked with chicken broth, spaghetti squash, once I a while regular pasta. Always add black pepper and curcumin powder and also EVOO. 2nd meal around 2:30pm, arugula with baby kale, EVOO, tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese or parmesan cheese and protein (chicken or salmon, daily intake about 130gr) sometimes I had 1 or 2 soft boil eggs. Been eating like this for years. Sometimes I'm not hungry on my day off so I just don't eat. Yet I'm still 10lb over and can't get rid of it… 😢
Heavy workouts, not eating when hungry, cold exposure, lack of sun, running, restricting carbs,….etc causes cortisol spikes. Sat bye to your adrenals and hair.
Nonsense upon nonsense upon nonsense.
Ask your guest to do a dozen pullups, 40 pushups and a 100 squats.
Oh right. He can't. Everything coming out of him is *word vomit*.
Why is Tony Hinchcliffe giving me dietary advice?
Ben bikman is backwards from this… He eats less carbs early in day and more carbs at dinner 🤔
My walking “weighted vest” is my giant cat 🤣🤣🤣 she follows me until I pick her up and must be held for several laps and wants down and then follows me until I pick her back up 🤣🤣🤣😻😻😻
I have noticed that if I eat healthy carbs I have energy, stay focused, sleep better, lose weight. They just have to be the right amount.
I just begin to understand of eating order which Protein Fiber and Carbs (PFC) in order to have satiety and slow down digestion. Thank you
🙏😊👍
Fasting
Milk thistle
Valine glycine glutamine lysine Little nac niacin Mixed with spirulina for better bioavailability
Potasium Chlorid/salt 90/10 After before meal to make the Food Basic and stable blood Sugar and blood pressure
Astaxanthin
Vitamin k 1/2
Vitamin b Complex
Zinc Beet Root
Loved this conversation. It was disheartening however to hear if we are not leaving 3hrs before bed to ‘close the kitchen’ it makes big differences in a negative way . I can only make my workouts at 6:15pm in the evening (immediately after work) and am usually home by 7:45pm – 8pm so it’s nearly midnight if I eat and leave it 3 hrs before bed which is way too late . So what the best alternative here?
Loved out conversation, Angela. As always!!