Menopause is one of the most common times when women begin to gain weight. But there are ways to help you lose weight during menopause. Two of the most important strategies are to eat a healthy diet and to exercise. Apply these two strategies to lose weight in menopause.
Over the past year, I’ve written about the best ways to lose weight during menopause. But menopause is a tricky time to take on weight loss. That’s because hormone fluctuations can make it difficult to keep the weight off, even if you’re following a diet or exercise plan.
Throughout the course of our lives, we experience many changes that can cause us to gain weight and lose muscle. At this time in our lives, it’s especially important to make healthy choices to ensure we achieve our optimal weight and keep it off. The following tips provide ideas for successfully losing weight during menopause:. Read more about the menopause diet 5 day plan to lose weight and let us know what you think.
Updated 17. June 2023, based on a medical opinion from
Are you a lady between the ages of 40 and 60? Have you noticed that your stomach has grown in size? Are you gaining weight despite your efforts?
Maybe you’ve been exercising and dieting, but the weight hasn’t come off?
We are here to assist you.
This book will teach you all you need to know about menopause, including how to manage (and eventually shed) your weight. In summary, a low-carb diet and certain lifestyle modifications may be beneficial.
Millions of women all around the globe are undergoing transformation. If you look at life beyond 60, you’ll see that it’s a lot longer. Considering the age of menopause, also known as postmenopause, it is predicted that approximately a billion women worldwide are experiencing menopause or are in postmenopause.
It’s critical to understand what’s going on with your metabolism and hormones since most women spend a third of their life in a non-reproductive state.
What lifestyle adjustments can you do to help you avoid or even reverse weight gain during menopause? What are the greatest ways to safeguard your health?
Here are our top eight suggestions:
- Follow a ketogenic or low-carb diet. This helps you maintain a healthy insulin level and a fast metabolism.
- Consume an adequate amount of protein. This aids in the maintenance of lean muscle mass and the reduction of appetite.
- Lift weights or engage in resistance training. It also aids in the maintenance and development of muscles.
- Set a time restriction for meals, for example. B. Do not eat breakfast. It helps to maintain insulin levels low for longer periods of time and may be a simple method to cut calories.
- Excessive intake of snacks, nuts, and alcohol should be avoided.
- Make getting enough sleep a priority. Cortisol levels and insulin resistance may be reduced as a result of this.
- Using relaxation methods to deal with stress. Yoga, exercise, and meditation may all be beneficial.
- If you’re often menopausal, ask your doctor about hormone replacement treatment (HRT).
Learn about the effects of menopause and how these eight strategies may help.
Begin your risk-free 30-day trial now!
Get immediate access to low-carb and keto meal plans, quick and simple recipes, medical experts’ weight reduction advice, and more. With a free trial, you can start living a healthy lifestyle right now!
Begin your risk-free trial now!
First and foremost, what is menopause?
The menstrual cycle of a woman comes to a stop with menopause. It is described as a 12-month time without menstruation in women over the age of 40. Despite the fact that the average age in North America is 52, hormonal changes may begin as early as 40 and continue until 60.
Menopause onset is determined by a complicated mix of genetics, ethnicity, location, socioeconomic position, and lifestyle variables, according to research.
Hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, brain fog, migraines, sleeplessness, vaginal dryness, bloating, and other menopausal symptoms are well-known. Weight gain and a rise in body fat, particularly around the belly, are unfortunately frequent concerns.
It is estimated that most women gain 2 to 5 pounds after menopause if they do not change their diet or lifestyle. Some individuals, on the other hand, receive a lot more.
Hormonal shifts
What causes these symptoms and weight gain? It’s all down to your hormones.
During menopause, the female reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone decrease significantly. The majority of menopausal symptoms are linked to changes in estrogen levels. Estradiol, also known as E2, is produced by the follicles of a woman’s ovaries and diminishes when the follicles get exhausted.
The decrease in estrogen levels may not be reversible. E2 levels rise significantly in approximately a third of women in their forties (perimenopause) and subsequently decrease abruptly. Others see a gradual and steady decrease. However, all women suffer a substantial decrease in estrogen levels around the time of their previous menstruation.
Some women suffer a substantial rise in the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol after menopause, particularly at night. There’s some evidence that this may have a role in increased hunger and weight gain, particularly around the waist.
It’s unclear why cortisol output occasionally rises during menopause. Although the evidence is unclear, it seems to be linked to internal physiological changes rather than a reaction to social stresses.
The hormonal changes that occur during menopause may have an impact on a woman’s metabolism, body composition, and weight.
Menopause causes weight loss.
For anybody, losing weight may be a tough job. Do women have a harder difficulty during menopause than men?
While most women think they have a tougher difficulty losing weight during menopause, experts differ on whether or not menopausal women have specific weight-loss difficulties.
According to other research, weight increase in middle-aged women is merely a result of aging, which affects both sexes, rather than the hormonal changes associated with menopause.
Others argue that when estrogen levels decline after menopause, women’s energy requirements decrease, metabolism slows, and fat deposition moves from the hips to the belly. Even these studies admit, however, that the weight increase seen in middle age does not usually alter after menopause. Rather, the most significant change is in body composition, with more fat accumulating in the body.
These variables have a role in a variety of metabolic and body composition changes, including making it easier to acquire weight and harder to lose it:
Muscle mass loss and a rise in body fat
Fat gain increases and muscular mass diminishes with the start of menopause. This occurrence, according to the researchers, is linked to hormonal changes after menopause, not simply age. It lasts for approximately two years following the last menstruation, after which it settles down.
Obesity caused by sarcopene
Sarcopenic obesity is a term that refers to the loss of muscular mass and strength, as well as a rise in body fat. This is a new area of study that has a lot of difficulties in terms of definition and uniform research methods.
However, there is a growing consensus that sarcopenic obesity is associated with a range of health problems, including weakness and falls, reduced mobility, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and higher all-cause mortality.
Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body’s
Insulin resistance may be caused by a variety of factors. It may rise owing to decreased estrogen levels, increased belly fat, age, and, of course, hereditary factors, especially after menopause.
Insulin resistance causes the pancreas to work harder and produce more insulin in order to maintain normal blood sugar levels. Insulin resistance causes fat to be stored and burned as fuel to be more difficult.
Metabolic syndrome is a condition in which the body’s metabolism
The metabolic syndrome is defined as a group of health signs and biomarkers that include insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, and cholesterol issues. The existence of these risk factors raises your chances of getting heart disease or diabetes.
Menopause, unfortunately, raises the incidence of metabolic syndrome.
When three or more of the following five criteria are fulfilled, a woman has metabolic syndrome: Waist circumference larger than 35 inches, blood pressure higher than 130/85 mm Hg, triglyceride (TG) level greater than 150 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol level less than 50 mg/dL, and blood glucose level greater than 100 mg/dL are all risk factors.
At rest, how much energy do you use?
Another issue arises as a result of the loss of muscle mass, the reduction in estrogen levels, and the increase in body fat: a woman’s resting energy consumption (metabolic rate) drops. Of fact, this occurs to everyone as they grow older, but menopause accelerates the process.
8 weight-loss strategies for women going through menopause
Was this article depressing and discouraging to read? That is not something you should do. While you can’t stop menopause from happening, you may mitigate some of the negative health consequences by changing your food and lifestyle.
But keep in mind that excellent health is more than a number on a scale. You cannot completely control how much weight you lose, how quickly you lose weight, or which areas of your body you lose weight, as we have said elsewhere on our website. Long-term success requires managing these expectations. Don’t forget to check out our expectations guide.
These eight suggestions, on the other hand, have all been scientifically proved to enhance your health by allowing your body to discover the appropriate weight for you throughout menopause.
Many of these strategies can help you enhance your body composition and reduce fat growth. They may even assist you in losing weight.
Each item below includes a link to one of our more in-depth guides, which include a huge number of search links for you to browse for more information.
1. Eating a low-carbohydrate diet
Your insulin levels rise when the carbs you consume are transformed to glucose. Simply eliminate sweets and carbohydrate-rich meals that rapidly convert into sugar, such as rice, potatoes, bread, pasta, and baked goods, to decrease your insulin levels and eventually overcome insulin resistance. When insulin levels are low, your body may access and burn fat stores for energy.
A low-carb diet may help you burn more fat by boosting your metabolism by 200-500 calories each day.
Avoiding sugary beverages and added sugars is also a good place to start. Our guides will show you how to do it.
2. Get enough protein in your diet
Maintaining lean muscle mass and preventing muscle loss linked with age and the development of sarcopenic obesity may be accomplished by eating adequate protein at each meal. Protein is also the most satiating macronutrient, therefore consuming it is the most effective method to suppress your brain’s urge to eat. Including an egg in your diet can help you get more protein.
Our protein guidelines provide a lot more information on protein supplementation and how to determine how much protein you need.
3. Doing strength training or lifting weights
You’ve heard the phrase Is it better to use it or lose it? This is also true of your muscles. Muscles that aren’t utilized grow flabby and feeble. Squats and push-ups, for example, are basic weight-bearing workouts that assist maintain and develop muscle.
Increased muscle mass not only makes you stronger (and your bones stronger), but it also helps you maintain resting energy levels, increase blood sugar levels, and decrease insulin resistance.
4. Set a time limit for eating.
When you don’t eat as often, your insulin levels remain lower for longer, and you eat less overall. It may be as easy as forgetting to have breakfast. It’s also simpler to miss a meal if you’re on a low-carb diet. Intermittent fasting, such as timed fasting, may help burn fat stores and decrease insulin resistance. Other types of intermittent fasting include OMAD, or just consuming one meal item each day.
5. Limit snacking, nuts, booze, and keto delights to avoid overindulging.
You may eat a bit more than you need to maintain your weight if your metabolism slows down during menopause. While a low-carb diet may help you manage your consumption by decreasing cravings and boosting fullness between meals, ketogenic foods can still be overdone.
Foods and drinks that are poor in nutrients and/or heavy in calories should be avoided by postmenopausal women. Keto sweets, fat bombs, bulletproof coffee, MCT oils, alcohol, low-carb fruits, and nuts should all be avoided. If you’re having trouble, consider avoiding dairy products, for example. B. Consume copious amounts of cheese and cream. Understanding hunger signals may also aid with weight loss.
6. Prioritize your sleep.
Consecutive nights of little sleep are just as harmful as a bad diet and may result in weight gain.
Good, regular sleep, on the other hand, may help decrease cortisol levels and improve insulin resistance, making weight management simpler.
If you’re having trouble sleeping due to menopause, consider these sleep tips: create a calm, quiet environment, develop a soothing sleep pattern, avoid stimulants and alcohol, and switch off devices at least an hour before bedtime.
7. Using relaxation methods to manage stress
Weight is influenced by more than just diet, sleep, and exercise. Cortisol levels may be raised by the pressures of the day and life, making it more difficult to lose weight. We think that yoga, relaxation activities such as Tai Chi, meditation, and calming hobbies may assist, but this is difficult to verify.
8. Attempt at HRT
Hormone replacement treatment may help some menopausal women sleep better, manage hot flashes, and better regulate their weight and changes in body composition. Ask your doctor about HRT if you’re going through a particularly tough period of menopause.
Summary
Without a doubt, things alter hormonally for women throughout menopause. It not only causes a slew of unpleasant sensations, but it also alters the woman’s health risks and body composition. Increased belly obesity, insulin resistance, muscle mass loss, and weight reduction difficulties are among these alterations.
However, you are not alone; millions of women have similar problems. You can maintain your health and energy and reach your target weight with a low-carb diet and a few other lifestyle modifications all the way until menopause and beyond.
Begin your risk-free 30-day trial now!
Get immediate access to low-carb and keto meal plans, quick and simple recipes, medical experts’ weight reduction advice, and more. With a free trial, you can start living a healthy lifestyle right now!
Begin your risk-free trial now!
Your body goes through many changes during menopause. It’s time to make changes to your diet and exercise routine. Here is a list of eight tips that will help you to meet these needs.. Read more about losing weight after menopause success stories and let us know what you think.
{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”FAQPage”,”mainEntity”:[{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”What is the fastest way to lose weight during menopause?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
The best way to lose weight during menopause is to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”How do I get rid of my menopause belly fat?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
You can try doing a few things to help with this. One thing you could do is start an exercise routine, such as running or walking for 30 minutes each day. You should also try to eat healthy and cut out any junk food that may be causing you to gain weight.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”What is the best diet to follow during menopause?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
The best diet to follow during menopause is a healthy, balanced diet that includes plenty of vegetables and fruits.”}}]}
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest way to lose weight during menopause?
The best way to lose weight during menopause is to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly.
How do I get rid of my menopause belly fat?
You can try doing a few things to help with this. One thing you could do is start an exercise routine, such as running or walking for 30 minutes each day. You should also try to eat healthy and cut out any junk food that may be causing you to gain weight.
What is the best diet to follow during menopause?
The best diet to follow during menopause is a healthy, balanced diet that includes plenty of vegetables and fruits.
Related Tags
This article broadly covered the following related topics:
- how to lose weight during menopause
- why am i losing weight during menopause
- how to lose weight during perimenopause
- how to lose menopause weight
- weight loss after menopause 5 surprise foods to avoid
