
About the Author
Dr. Sjors Klijs played professional rugby into his thirties, then stopped. Within a year, his belly grew despite eating the same and training almost as hard. His bloodwork showed why: testosterone declining, aromatase converting more of it into estrogen.
"I'd told patients to eat less, move more, for years," he says. "Then I watched it not work on myself."
This book is that answer: the remedies he used to reverse it, organized for women and men separately, by the hormone driving it.
Is This You?
"Not a diagnosis, just your own pattern, clearer."
Two or more? These chapters were written for you.
🔸Your stomach feels tight and stretched by evening, like it's pushing against your waistband, even after a normal-sized meal
🔸You're gassier than you used to be, sometimes enough to feel embarrassed about it, even eating the same foods that never used to cause it
🔸You can hear and feel your stomach gurgling or churning more than before, especially an hour or two after eating
🔸Hot flashes or night sweats leave your stomach feeling more swollen and uncomfortable the next day
🔸You feel more stressed, wired, or anxious than before, and you can feel it land directly in your gut, a knot, a flutter, a tightness that wasn't there a few years ago
🔹 Your stomach feels tight and gassier by evening than it used to, even eating the same way
🔹 You've caught yourself blaming it on age or stress, but nothing changes no matter what you try
🔹 You're up once or twice a night to urinate, and it's started to feel routine
What's Really Happening in Your Body?
🔸Estrogen & Where Fat Goes: Estrogen used to direct fat toward hips and thighs. As it falls through perimenopause, that pattern flips, fat heads for your midsection instead, confirmed by DEXA/CT scans tracking the shift right around the final period. Not your imagination, not your fault.
🔸Cortisol Loses Its Brake: Belly fat has unusually dense cortisol receptors. Estrogen used to keep cortisol in check; once that brake is gone, an ordinary stressful day shows up on your stomach by morning.
🔸Muscle & Metabolism: Estrogen also helps hold onto muscle. As it drops, muscle quietly erodes, slowing your resting metabolism even with no change in diet or movement.
🔹The Testosterone Trap: Fat contains aromatase, an enzyme converting testosterone into estrogen. More belly fat means more conversion, means less testosterone, means easier to gain more belly fat. A loop, not a discipline problem.
🔹Cortisol, a Parallel Story: Same dense cortisol receptors around your organs. Chronic stress raises cortisol and independently lowers testosterone, so work tension sits directly on your waistline.
🔹Blood Sugar Connection: In men with type 2 diabetes, low testosterone symptoms show up earlier and harder. Blood sugar and testosterone track together, if both are sliding, they're likely sliding for the same reason.
Not Just Theory
A longitudinal DEXA/CT study found visceral fat rising specifically around the final period, independent of diet or weight.
In men, TRT trials in truncal obesity with low-normal testosterone measured real visceral fat reduction plus better insulin sensitivity, confirming this is measurable and treatable, not abstract.
Translation: this isn't something you're doing wrong, it's a switch that flips at a specific point in your biology, one you can work with.
Contenido desplegable
For Women ♀️
For Women ♀️
Sage Extract: Reduces frequency and severity of hot flashes and night sweats, targeting the same estrogen decline redirecting fat to your midsection.
Ashwagandha: RCTs show significant cortisol reduction plus better stress and sleep, addressing estrogen's lost brake on cortisol.
Resistance Training, 2x/week: The best-documented way to slow the muscle loss driving your metabolism down. No cost, no supplement.
For Men ♂️
For Men ♂️
Fenugreek Extract: Meta-analysis found a significant effect raising total testosterone, directly interrupting the belly-fat-to-estrogen conversion loop.
Ashwagandha: Studies in men show both reduced cortisol and increased testosterone, working both sides of the loop at once.
Resistance Training: One of the most consistent ways to improve insulin sensitivity and support healthy testosterone with age.
Two Separate 4-Week Resets
Not a rigid structure - adapt it to what you checked off in "Is This You?" above.
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WEEK 1
Notice the pattern. Pick one calming tea after your biggest meal (fennel, peppermint, or ginger) and start the sleep checklist. Track bloating and energy each evening, 1-10. Most people already notice less immediate gas-bloating within days if they're consistent, small, but it's the first sign something's actually shifting.
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WEEK 2
Add your hormonal layer.
♀️ Women: add sage extract if hot flashes are part of your pattern, or ashwagandha if stress and cortisol feel like the bigger driver.
♂️ Men: add fenugreek extract for testosterone support, or ashwagandha if work stress is clearly part of the picture, plus two resistance training sessions this week. -
WEEK 3
Refine. By now you'll know which remedy gave you the clearest relief and which did nothing, so drop what isn't working, don't just keep adding. If nighttime urination is a factor, this is when saw palmetto and pumpkin seed go in together.
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WEEK 4
Lock it in. Keep only the 2-3 remedies that made a real difference. This becomes your actual routine, not a month-long experiment you'll forget by June.
Includes weekly reflection questions to track how you actually feel - no app needed, just a notebook.
• New, severe, or steadily worsening bloating over several weeks rather than day-to-day fluctuation
• Unexplained weight loss alongside digestive changes
• Rectal bleeding, black or tarry stools, or persistent changes in bowel habits
• Severe or very localized pelvic or abdominal pain, especially if it wakes you at night
• Bloating accompanied by fever, persistent vomiting, or inability to keep food down
• A family history of ovarian, colon, or uterine cancer combined with new or persistent bloating, this combination warrants prompt evaluation rather than a wait-and-see approach
• Hot flashes or mood changes severe enough to significantly disrupt work, relationships, or daily functioning, effective medical options exist beyond what's covered in this book
• Difficulty urinating, a very weak stream, or inability to urinate at all
• Blood in urine or semen
• Unexplained weight loss alongside digestive or urinary changes
• Severe or worsening pelvic, lower back, or abdominal pain
• New erectile dysfunction, especially if sudden, since it can sometimes be an early marker of cardiovascular disease worth investigating
• Persistent fatigue, low mood, or low libido significant enough to affect work or relationships, effective medical evaluations and treatment options exist
• A family history of prostate cancer combined with any new urinary symptom warrants a prompt conversation with your doctor about screening
FAQ
Does this book replace hormone therapy?
Does this book replace hormone therapy?
NO. These remedies are complementary tools, not a substitute for medical care. If hormone therapy is right for you, these herbs can often be used alongside it - but check the interaction notes first.
What are the best natural remedies for common health problems?
What are the best natural remedies for common health problems?
This isn't a general wellness book, it's built around one clinical pattern Dr. Klijs kept seeing on both sides of the exam table: a belly that grows even when the scale, arms, and legs haven't changed. The mechanism is different for women and men, so the book doesn't give you one formula, it gives you two.
For women, it's the shift from estrogen's protective effect on cortisol toward central fat storage, confirmed by DEXA and CT imaging studies tracking women through the menopausal transition. For men, it's the testosterone-aromatase loop, belly fat itself converts testosterone into estrogen, which then encourages more belly fat, a cycle you can actually interrupt rather than just accept as "getting older.
How does our program differ from other books on medicinalplants?
How does our program differ from other books on medicinalplants?
Most books blaming belly fat on "slow metabolism" stop at diet advice. This one is written by someone trained in both sports medicine and endocrinology, which means the remedies target the actual hormone signaling, sage extract for hot flash frequency in women, resistance training for testosterone in men, instead of another calorie-counting plan dressed up as something new.
It also refuses to treat "eat less, move more" as the whole answer for a 52-year old whose blood work would show declining estrogen or testosterone driving the change, because for that person, willpower was never really the missing piece.
Do I need to buy all 63 remedies?
Do I need to buy all 63 remedies?
No. Start with 2-3 remedies matching your main triggers using the "Putting It All Together" chapter, then expand from there
How soon will bloating improve?
How soon will bloating improve?
Simple carminative teas like fennel or peppermint can ease gas within 20-30 minutes. Hormone-supporting herbs and adaptogens usually need 4-8 weeks of consistent use before the effect becomes clear.
Is this book relevant if I still have my period?
Is this book relevant if I still have my period?
Yes. Perimenopause the years before your final period - is often when bloating and abdominal changes begin, sometimes years before periods actually stop
Are these remedies safe if I'm taking medication?
Are these remedies safe if I'm taking medication?
Many are gentle, but several carry real interaction risks. Check the precaution box on each remedy and the "Combining Safely" table, and ask a pharmacist or doctor if unsure.


