5 Ways to Get Rid of Menopause Weight Gain

Oh, to look like that again, right?

Did you hit menopause and suddenly gain inches of flab around your middle? You were or are still watching what you eat and working out regularly, nothing’s really changed. Except your jeans don’t fit you any more?!

Well, guess what, my friends. It’s normal. Ugh, don’t you hate that?

Here are the top 5 reasons most of us put on that muffin-top at menopause.

Aging, itself

The older we get, the slower we get, the slower our metabolism, and the more likely we are to have medical conditions that make physical activity a challenge. So advancing age, itself, will cause weight gain and loss of muscle mass and de-conditioning.

Hormones

Our bodies are awash in hormones, which are signalling messengers that work together in intricate and intelligent ways to keep our cellular function in balance. Two of the most important ones in menopause and weight gain are estrogen and leptin.

As our estrogen levels drop with the peri-menopause years, a number of changes take place in our bodies. One is a shift in fat storage from around the thighs and hips to the abdomen. Our cells also store more fat. We can’t catch a break!

And, if that weren’t enough…cellular changes with menopause also slow down the body’s fat burning processes. Arrrrrgh!

Another important hormone is leptin. Leptin is produced by fat cells, and therefore increases when our body fat increases. It’s meant to turn off our appetite when we’re full – so it’s called the “starvation hormone”. But in a cruel twist of fate, our sugar-saturated brains can become resistant to its message to “STOP EATING!”  So, we don’t.

Poor Sleep

Menopause causes sleep disturbances, usually waking up between 2 am and 5 am and not getting back to sleep. Many of us experience hot flashes and night sweats – but even if you don’t, chances are you’re still very intolerant of any rise in body temperature now – and find yourself tossing off that duvet or searching the house for a cool and empty bed to climb into.

Lack of sleep leads to weight gain in a couple of ways. We produce less leptin, the hormone mentioned above, that controls metabolic rate. Less leptin means a slower metabolic rate.

Broken or interrupted sleep has been shown to increase hunger and appetite. We tend to go for those high-sugar or fatty snacks to boost our flagging energy.

And of course, we aren't as physically active when we're fatigued and worn out.

Many other factors - stress, daytime noise, caffeine, for example -  affect our ability to get restful sleep. It’s a huge issue for many people, to be honest. So, stay tuned! I’ll be focusing more specifically on sleep in upcoming blog posts.

Stress

Cortisol is a hormone released by our adrenal glands in times of stress. Its job is to turn on our “fight or flight” response so that we leap into action in times of threat or danger.

But some of us live with stress on a daily basis. Job stress, family stress, financial stress, relationship stress, stress stress stress. It’s a stressy life and most of us are feeling it.

So we have cortisol on board much of the time – and unfortunately, it causes us to accumulate belly fat and probably to eat more of the high fat, sugary “comfort foods” to satisfy stress-induced cravings.

Note: If chronic stress has really got you down and your mood is low, causing you to overeat and not feel motivated to move or improve, please see your doctor right away. Depression, combined with your menopause symptoms, may be at the root of your weight gain and sleep problems.

 Diet…of course

What you eat, and how and when you eat, become evermore important after menopause – for all the reasons listed above. We can’t get away with fast food diets and boozy nights out like we could when we were younger. As far as I can tell, very calorie counts these days, so it’s really important to make sure every calorie is worth it.

(Definition of worth it: Every calorie you consume is either super nutritious or so yummy that you're willing to do extra calorie-burning exercise to work it off.)

A diet heavy on carbohydrates and sugar (pizza, bread, pasta, sweets, pastries, candy, sodas and sweetened drinks) will overwhelm your metabolism now, and you will pile the weight on. These are empty calories, for the most part. They may taste good, and make you happy for a minute, but there’s very little, if any, nutrient value contained in these foods. Not worth it, in my mind.

Here’s the good news…we’re not doomed!

The first step is to accept that it’s a given, and commit to doing some work to reshape your future. If you know what I mean (wink).

It will mean examining your diet and exercise habits, your stress levels and sleep quality, perhaps your lifestyle in general, and it will take diligence. Did I say diligence? Uh-huh! We’re talking commitment to making permanent changes, for most of us.

You may find a period of experimentation will help you to figure out the best approach for you. Your personal preferences, your genetic make-up and body type, your environment and schedule, your health status (energy levels and medications), and your family routines all play into the diet and lifestyle changes that will ultimately work for you.

In the meantime, here are 5 ways to start the process of trimming down and looking great in those skinny jeans again.

1. Look at your diet and start cutting out the offenders - it’s a MUST!

Do a couple of “pop” 24-hour food diaries, looking back at what you ate the day before. Spring them on yourself. It’s the most honest way to track what we’re eating.

• Cut out processed foods and refined carbohydrates (the sugar and flour products listed above).

• Cut out all sweetened beverages and stop adding sugar to tea and coffee.

• Reduce alcohol to one drink a day (the healthy limit recommended for women).

This is a good start. Remember, it's a work in progress. My next post, coming later this month, will focus more on specifics of what, how and when to eat.

Join us and you'll be notified when it's posted and ready to read.

2. Get moving and keep moving!

The amazing benefits of exercise plus ideas on how to get moving were the topics of my last two posts. Can’t say enough. Read them here.

3. Keep a sleep diary

Do you fall asleep quickly, but wake up sometime after 2 am? Are you then busily solving problems or, worse, ruminating on old regrets? Or are you thrashing around, hot and sweaty? Jot it down.

Then try this for a month:

• Cut down on caffeine, and avoid it altogether after noon hour.

• Do your exercise early in the day.

• Wind down for a few hours before bed with quiet activities and turn off your computer and other devices.

• Consider finding your own private, dark, cool and airy sleep space. (No pets or partners allowed).

• Take a warm (not hot) Epsom salts bath.

• Read a (real) book.

• Keep track of improvements in your diary.

Stay tuned for more specifics on sleep in an upcoming post.

4. Schedule stress-reducing down time

Like shopping and cooking, exercise and family time, stress reduction is another self care routine that must be prioritized and slotted into our busy schedules. Feeling stressed, wound up and distracted, won’t go away on it’s own – we have to make time to address it.

Here are some easy stress reducers:

• Turn off all your devices and spend 30 minutes in silence

• Walk in nature, no headphones or iTunes

• Meditate, even for 5 minutes. Just sit and pay attention to your breath.

• Yoga – great for balance, stretching, and mind-body connection

• Take a bath in lavender and epsom salts

• Treat yourself to a relaxing spa massage or facial

• Laugh! Check out comedians online or watch sitcom reruns

• Write about your day in your journal

Easing your stress will have the added benefit of helping you sleep and curbing your urge to eat to feel better.

5. See your doctor for a chat about MHT

The above general tips and ideas may not work for everyone, as each of us has a unique experience with menopause. If you’re really struggling with your symptoms, please see your health care provider for help, as there are medical treatments available for you to consider.

For example, menopause hormone therapy (MHT, previously called HRT) is once again being recommended for the treatment of debilitating menopause symptoms. It's been under close study since the 2001 Women’s Health Initiative study that reported that hormone replacement therapy increased women’s risk of breast cancer and heart disease.

It was a quite a blow to the women who found it useful to treat their hot flashes, night sweats and irritability. My colleagues and I stopped prescribing it on the spot, and advised current users to discontinue it immediately. We had a lot of very unhappy and uncomfortable women on our hands!

Happily, after much more study, MHT is now felt to be more beneficial than harmful for women 50 to 60 years of age (or those less than 10 years out from their last period). It’s very effective for relief of hot flashes, helps with sleep, AND in a few studies, has been shown to support diet and exercise efforts to reduce belly fat!

Chat to your physician about whether you’re a candidate for MHT, and his or her views about prescribing it. If he or she is not comfortable for you to try MHT, consider a second opinion with a savvy gynecologist or endocrinologist (hormone specialist).

I believe we can beat The Meno-pot, so don’t give up!

With the right combination of diet, exercise, stress reduction and sleep techniques, and maybe a bit of modern medicine, we can remodel our flabby midsections. We’ll never have the flat, smooth bellies of our youth, but we can certainly sport an age-appropriate, very acceptable pooch that will tuck nicely into those trendy, stretchy high-waisted jeans.

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