I’m 50, and in my 40s I did the opposite of what you’re told to stay lean, I ate more carbs. Every keto coach in my comments is about to lose it. Here’s the why nobody explains. In perimenopause, estrogen and progesterone are shifting, and most of that is out of your hands. Two hormones are still yours to steer every single day. Insulin and cortisol. Steer them well and your sleep, your hot flashes, your brain and your body composition all follow. 1. I eat carbs every day. As estrogen drops, your brain gets less efficient at using glucose for fuel. In brain scans, perimenopausal women’s brains used less glucose in memory regions than premenopausal women’s (Mosconi, PLoS One 2017). A foggy brain needs steady fuel. 2. I eat before I train. I quit fasted HIIT. Hard training on an empty tank stacks stress on stress, and cortisol that stays high pushes fat to your middle and wakes you up at night. 3. Fiber and protein go first, starchy carbs last, and I walk after I eat. A smaller spike...