Your first reaction may be surprise when you notice that all of a sudden you have started to gain weight. Sometimes you feel and are bloated to the point of not being able to wear certain clothing. Your surprise turns to frustration when you realize you were your normal self, eating what you wanted, when you wanted and you were not doing anything different that made you gain so much of weight.
You are by now entering into perimenopause which is the early stage of menopause when trying to maintain ideal body weight becomes an extremely difficult task. No matter how hard you try, you ar fighting against three hormones known as Estrogen and helps you maintain your proper metabolism, and helps you to function as a normal woman,Androgen the hormone that is responsible for all the body fat you put on in all the wrong places including your belly and Testosterone the hormone that is responsible for converting calories to lean muscle mass.
With all these on the decline and increase, perimenopause creates havoc on your body inside and out. You have to fight against these three hormones especially estrogen which is now declining gradually. You will notice that your monthly periods become irregular and sometimes you miss your period or start spotting. Thankfully, there are many modern medications both pharmaceutical and natural that you could start on so that you can make a smooth transition to menopause without having to suffer and go through all the symptoms that comes on with menopause.
There are so many diet and fitness programs available today that a woman can prepare herself well in advance by controlling her diet, avoiding smoking and alcohol and starting to make changes in her lifestyle gradually. In this way by correcting the situation before it strikes any woman can go into menopause without having to suffer at all.
You have to accept that as a woman when you reach menopausal age that here are many changes that are taking place in your body. Although you think that you are overweight, sometimes you may have put on a few extra kilos. However when you reach menopause this tends to get worse if you are living an inactive lifestyle and eating the wrong food. Bloating is another symptom that occurs when you are in menopause and can be an annoying symptom.
menopause night sweats
One day you can wear an outfit and the next you struggle to get into it. This doesn’t last for long but can be stress on you so don’t try to be fashionable in this difficult time and try to lose weight to an absolute thinness. You will be more prone to osteoporosis. The main cause for weight gain in menopause is the major changes that are taking place in your lifestyle. Hormones play a major role during menopause.
You can avoid a lot of problems if you only take precautions prior to coming into menopause. Most women are unaware that their body is going through transition and that she is having her entire reproductive system coming to a standstill. It is only when major changes in the body start to take place that she is aware that something is wrong and that something is Menopause.
When a woman who was usually slim starts to put on weight and has fat stored around her hips and the hip area enlarges and so does the fat in the abdominal area she could also be extremely vulnerable to coronary disorders Muscles turns to fat at a faster rate during menopause. Your eating habits have to change, because if you don’t change you will gain weight rapidly
Lentils are known as the belly flattener. Full of protein and fiber in it is ideal for those who want to lose weight specially during menopause. More greens, salads and veggies and fruits should be added to your diet. If you eat meat it should be lean meat. Oatmeal digests slowly and ideal for you if you, if you are in your late 50’s in menopause.
In any event, Oatmeal is ideal as it lowers cholesterol levels and keeps you healthy. Instant oats contain fibre that you need in your diet and is easy to prepare. You could add fruits or even vegetables into the oats to give you a wholesome meal. Protein helps to stabilize your blood sugar levels so you won’t be prone to become diabetic.
symptoms of the menopause
Since your body is lacking in estrogen which by the time you reach menopause starts to decrease, you will find that fat gets deposited in all the wrong places. The lifestyle you live and the things that you do that make you gain weight during menopause.
Don’t try to lose huge amounts of weigh at once. You’ll have sagging skin if you have already been overweight prior to menopause.
Don’t starve yourself. It will only make your metabolism slow down
Don’t go for crash diets. They don’t work
Be active. Do things that make your metabolism and help burn excess fat. Aerobics, weight bearing activities, walking cycling increase muscle mass will protect you from osteoporosis
Try strength training combined with an increase in physical activity,
Maintain a healthy body composition – more lean muscle and less body fat
What if you have tried everything already and still don’t find the answers to what you face during menopause. The insufferable hot flashes is what most women complain about while in menopause feeling uncomfortable, sweaty, hot, flushed, irritable, and most of all gaining of weight. Some women go to the extent of making a note of when they fee the way they do. Bloated, weight gain that simply won’t go away even though they believe they are eating right.
You will forget or fail to see the patterns of your eating habits and what you thought was normal and ok to eat now turns against you. For some women when they are around people the get hot flashes. Some women on the other hand tend to eat oily, fatty, salted processed meats and for hunger pangs that come on they go in for the nearest fast food outlet which is the most convenient of all.
Others who are bored will also do the same. The weight that they gain and the bloating that they will experience will then take time to go away. Now is the time for you to take a good look at what is happening to the inside and outside of your body to see related things that you were previously unaware of. You know what makes a difference when you eat certain foods.
You also need to get as much rest as possible because if you were a late night party going person, now you have to slow down before you start getting insomnia and chronic fatigue. This doesn’t mean you have to give up all that you were doing and just lay back. You don’t give up and suffer.
There are many vitamin supplements you can take. One of these is flaxseed oil capsules which work wonders for all problems. Recent studies in this area have shown that there is a lot to offer women in menopause with flaxseed.
Menopause and weight gain doesn’t have to be inevitable. When a woman reaches her early, or mid 40’s and 50’s her ovaries shrink and tend to dysfunction. Her entire reproductive system doesn’t operate as it used to and she will not get pregnant. During this perimenopause or menopause stage of her life, she will go through many symptoms. Estrogen which is the most important hormone for the function of a woman’s metabolism practically dies and she is left with a load of problems to face.
While most doctors prescribe HRT which relieves the problems associated with menopause, it has now been scientifically proven that HRT is dangerous and can cause breast cancer in women. However to control the hormones that are decreasing, there are herbal products that can be taken and which are bio-identical hormones. They do not have any side effects so you don have to worry.
Besides that, you also need to take care of your body and keep it functioning in good health by eating a balanced diet, exercising your body in moderation and making changes like not taking alcohol and quit smoking. You can relieve menopause symptoms and weight gain by using the right menopause treatments.
There are many women around the world who have done this and come through it all successfully and are living healthier lives. . Besides taking a healthy diet you can have an exercise routine which should also be added to your daily plan after checking with your doctor.
This is very important because if you suffer from osteoporosis and you don’t even know until you are told about it, you may be at risk of having a fracture so make sure that you check with your family doctor prior to exercising. For women who go through depression treatments like antidepressants which a woman can take in the form of natural products is the best, but if this does not work then you need to check again with your doctor.
After the menopause the changes that occur in a woman, make her more prone to infections of the bladder Due to the hormonal changes here are fewer good bacteria that keeps the bad bacteria under control. Increased vaginal dryness and thinning of the tissues or pelvic prolapse lead to improper emptying of urine. An infection due to stagnant urine can allow bacteria to grow and cause infections.
The bladder also becomes less elastic allows urine to collect encouraging infection. Maintaining weight becomes a problem as the Estrogen levels decline in your body. Estrogen helps drive your body to build muscle. When you lack in this hormone estrogen, your body becoming flabbier, particularly your abdomen and the arms area. Physical fitness actively promotes new muscle growth.
Menopause Mood Swings
You could make use of the services of a personal trainer and train the right way. If you are new to weight training your trainer will show you how avoid injury by increasing your cardiovascular exercise. Avoid red meat and carbohydrates that increase serotonin levels which make you crave for that something sweet. .
Tryptophan an amino acid helps the body to absorb protein produce serotonin. Soya products such as tofu are rich in calcium and the amino acid Tryptophan. This also helps you sleep well. Women, who struggle with menopause in addition to the night sweats and insomnia, are also dealing with weight gain which is also one of the most bothersome main symptoms. Hormonal imbalance that decreases dramatically the increased appetite that makes a woman want to stay inactive is the worst thing that can happen to her.
Find a way to correct the imbalance with all natural hormone supplements as it helps to maintain a healthy weight. Exercise, eat healthy foods and stay away from stressful situations.
Menopause is the time when even women who have never had weight problems in the past tend to gain abdominal fat as they go through the transition period. Lean muscle decreases during menopause, increase in, body fat that accumulates in the usual places, like stomach region, arms or legs and the hips, menopause abdominal fat finds its way to all the wrong places. When menopausal weight starts to show there are several things you can do to prevent excess weight.
Following sensible tips greatly benefit by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Cardiovascular exercises for about thirty minutes, bicycling walking, yoga, or swimming, should be done at least 3 times a week. Give your diet the “Military Style” on what you eat. Eating healthier foods. Restricting refined sugars and products made out of white flour, taking herbal supplements and drinking lots of water help to a great extent.
menopause weight loss
Natural foods that you eat contain Phytoestrogens that is known to help ease the side effects of menopause that you experience. Organic vegetables and meats, tofu, soya and lean meats that don’t contain any growth hormones is what is good for you. Add pasta to your diet, drink eight glasses of water a day no colas and other fizzy drinks. Take green tea and vegetables that are high in zinc.
If you want to have your libido back, get rid of the hot flashes the anxiety and mood swings, then maintain a healthy body to also lessen menopausal weight gain . Vitamin E, Tofu and Black Cohosh, with all natural ingredients can decrease the symptoms you experience more efficiently.
These are two very different kinds of fat deposits in your body. What you can hold when you grab the fleshy parts of your body is known as subcutaneous fat that is just below the surface of the skin. The fat that is known as Visceral fat is dangerous to the health. The cardiovascular problems and diabetes problems arise when this fat deposits in the wrong places in your body.
Use weight training to build muscle it will help increase your metabolism
Burn more calories
Gaining belly fat is extremely dangerous because it is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Most of the time for a woman in menopause all of their extra fat gets deposited in the abdomen. When a woman starts taking hormone replacement therapy she may temporarily experience weigh gain due to bloating from water retention in the body. This will make her feel sluggish.
Menopause Weight Gain
Although bloating won last for long, eliminating salt can help to a great deal. There may be times when you can’t wear certain clothes or even wear jewellery like rings, because your whole body bloats. After sometime this goes away. If the symptoms continue and don’t go away, you need to talk to your doctor to decide a good course of action. There may be an underlying illness which needs to be investigated. Making life altering decisions is not an easy task.
You have to take the first step as your entire life depends on this. Going ahead and simply eating whatever you want will only make you gain more weight. Be extremely careful about what your food intake is and to the portion sizes that you take in so you will not be prone to overeating. Remember that most of the time the weight that women gain ends up not only in the belly but also on your backside and hips. With dietary control taking a 30 minute daily walk for the day will help you shed the extra pounds you have gained. It is worth the walk rather than coming in for a heart attack.
If a woman is in her late 40’s or early 50’s, she usually is entering into the Menopausal stage. The symtoms often will show up in different ways but the most common of them all are the symtoms that are associated with it that will let you know it is coming on. The biggest problem is Weight gain. Termed medically as “No menstruation for almost 12 months” this situation affects every woman in the age group listed herein.
20 Menopause Symtoms
• Tenderness of Breasts
• Menstruation Changes
• Dryness of the Vagina
• Loss of libido
• Thinning of the skin around the cervix.
• Headaches
• Problems with Memory
• Unexplained Tiredness
• Anxiety and Depression
• Losing hair and hair thinning
• Urinary tract problems
• Difficulties in concentrating
• Changes in Mood
• Confusion
• Irritated
• Hot flashes
• Sleep disorders
• Night sweats
• Osteoporosis
• Cardiovascular problems
Menopause Symtoms
These are associated with aging, and if handled properly and preparing early and being ready for this transition is the best way to handle all the symtoms listed. Eating a balanced diet free from artificial flavorings and processed meats, staying away from fast food items will greatly help in reduction of weight gained during this crucial time. It is a myth that this is the cause for gaining those extra kilos. Maintaining ideal body weight during this period depends largely on how best you handle the food that you eat.
Some women may or may not experience any menopause symtoms and have a smooth transition with only their menstruation stopping permanently. This can be the best part of your life and you can be free of unwanted pregnancies and have no fear. You will be free to be with your spouse more than you ever did because of you being available. No more troublesome periods. You can maintain the ideal weight you want to during this time by making use of alternative therapy and herbal products.
Menopause weight loss can be achieved but you need to understand what is changing in your body. During menopause your body will start to store fat around your stomach more than your hips. This occurs because your body is producing less oestrogen. Typically oestrogen can cause us to store the fat in our hips.
During menopause weight gain will shift from the hips to the stomach and therefore exercising the stomach becomes much more important in burning off fat. The videos below from www.diet.com are excellent examples of exercise routines that target the stomach.
Menopause Weight Loss Week 1
Week 1 Tip From Judy
During menopause your cholesterol levels rise and this is again due to the lack of Oestrogen. The weight gain is caused by three main factors
1. As we naturally age we need fewer calories, during menopause the number of calories we require falls faster than before.
2. Exercise during menopause slows due to or increasing pain in our joints .
3. Attitude – during menopause we all suffer from some level of depression/sadness and it is scientifcally proven that when we are down we are less likely to exercise.
Knowing the 3 factors above it is important to remember to have a good attitude, exercise regularly and eat healthy…no surprises here!
Menopause Weight Loss Week 2
Week 2 Tip From Judy – Menopause and Weight Loss/Control
3 Simply put there are a few things you must do to achieve menopause weight loss. First eat fewer calories, as our metabolism continues to slow we can keep eating the way we used to, typically we require 20% fewer calories than we did when we were 20. Secondly eat less fat, since what we eat goes directly to our stomachs during menopause its important to limit our fat intake since any fat stored around our stomach is more difficult to burn off.
Menopause Weight Loss Week 3
Week 3 Tip From Judy – Focus on the core
To achieve menopause weight loss we need to target the core, our stomach and back. This is the key to losing weight during menopause, the videos on this site are excellent and will help you stop menopause weight gain.
Menopause Weight Loss Week 4
Week 4 Tip From Judy – Positive Attitude
A little comedy for week #4
Q: How many women with MENOPAUSE does it take to change a light bulb?
A:One! ONLY ONE!!!! And do you knowWHY? Because no one else in this house knowsHOWto change a light bulb! They don’t even know that the bulb isBURNED OUT!! They would sit in the dark forTHREE DAYSbefore they figured it out. And, once they figured it out, they wouldn’t be able to find the light bulbs despite the fact that they’ve been in the SAME CUPBOARD for the past 17 YEARS! But if they did,by some miracle of God, actually find them2 DAYS LATER, the chair they dragged to stand on to change theSTUPIDlight bulb wouldSTILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE STUPID LIGHT BULBS CAME IN!!! BECAUSE NO ONE EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT’S A WONDER WE HAVEN’T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS HOUSE!
I’m sorry…. What was the question?
Menopause Weight Loss Week 5
Week 5 Tip From Judy – Involve Friends and Family in Your Menopause Weight Loss Mission
You will by now been achieving some results and getting compliments on how well you are doing, take this positive encouragement and empower other woman. A remarkable thing happens when you begin to help out other woman who share your same struggles you draw strength from one another and they will help push you through the next couple weeks.
Menopause Weight Loss Week 6
Week 6 Tip From Judy – Take the Diet Personality Test to Help Stop Any Menopause and Weight Gain
I recommend using diet.com’s FREE personality quiz to determine what your diet personality is.
