10 Tips to Stop Menopausal Weight Gain
When women enter menopause, weight gain is one of the symptoms at a rate of about 1 to 2 pounds per year. Aside from the slower metabolism of middle age, hormones play a key role.
Other factors also put unwanted pounds right where you don’t want them. Slowly but surely your body changes shape from pear to apple, which means you’re adding fat around the organs where it harms your health the most.
It’s not going to be easy to keep the pounds off forever, but the health benefits are well worth it. Did you know that even a few extra pounds increase the risk of colon and breast cancer?
Here are 10 tips to help you stop weight gain during menopause.
- Keep a journal of everything you eat for a week – you will be surprised. Just doing this will help you become aware of what you eat. There’s no reason to count calories, but you have to be honest with yourself.
- Take inventory of your pantry and refrigerator. Identify those foods that are highly processed. They usually have starches, sugars and hydrogenated fats at the beginning of a long list of ingredients (often along with various unpronounceable additives). These are the foods that put the pounds right in your midsection and also clog your arteries.
- Take calcium and vitamin D for double benefits. Both are essential for strong bones, but they also help with weight loss during menopause.
- Add some phytoestrogen to boost your estrogen level. Decreased estrogen is one of the factors for gaining belly fat and slowing down your metabolism. If you have other menopausal symptoms that are driving you crazy, talk to your doctor about hormone therapy.
- Ask for a “to-go box” when you order your food at a restaurant and split the portion at the beginning. Or better yet, share your meal with a partner. Portions at restaurants are often much larger than what is needed to maintain your weight.
- One of the biggest myths is that if you drink diet soda instead of regular soda you will lose weight. Researchers have found that this is not the case, although they don’t know why. Drink green tea instead. Green tea has tons of antioxidants and helps you lose weight.
- Start to walk. Not only does it give you some exercise, but walking is considered a weight-bearing exercise that is highly recommended for menopausal women to prevent osteoporosis.
- Get a CD or video game to work out in the privacy of your home. That avoids the “I don’t have time” excuse.
- Check out exercise classes offered for free or cheap in your area. I recently saw an article in the newspaper about Tai-Chi classes for adults being offered by the local government for little or now money.
- Avoid stress and learn to relax. Stress has been shown to increase menopausal weight and worsen symptoms, such as hot flashes. Stress also speeds up the aging process.
These tips will give you an idea of things you can do to stop menopausal weight gain. The goal is to make changes in your life that you can stick with in the long term to stay healthy long after menopause.
