# @ciarafoyinc on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DeUT1Jhxwti
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71438690-ciarafoyinc-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/cbeb056160.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-10-10T14:36:48.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Ciara Foy // Nutritionist • Hormone Expert • 20 Yrs (@ciarafoyinc) — https://gondola.cc/ciarafoyinc

## Caption

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 means less insulin, and insulin is your fat storage hormone. While it’s high, your body can’t let go of stored fat.

4. I keep my blood sugar steady into the evening. When it crashes overnight, your body can release cortisol and adrenaline to bring it back up. That’s your 3am wake-up. And in 3,075 midlife women followed for 8 years, more frequent hot flashes went hand in hand with more insulin resistance (Thurston, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2012).

5. I lift heavy. I squat more than my weight. Muscle soaks up the sugar from your meal, so your body needs less insulin to handle your carbs.

This is why you don’t have to be low carb to support your metabolic health. One of my clients brought her A1c from 7.9 to 5.8 in three months, with no keto.

I’m teaching all of it live in my free masterclass, Age Reversal Weight Loss Secrets for Women Over 40, Friday, October 16 at 8:30am PT / 11:30am ET.

Follow me first so it lands in your DMs, then comment SECRET and I’ll send you your seat.

Save this for the next time someone tells you to cut carbs.

Send it to the friend who’s been scared of fruit for 10 years.

#perimenopauseweightloss #womenover40 #bloodsugar #hotf

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## Tags

womenover40, hotf, bloodsugar, perimenopauseweightloss

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