If you’ve reached menopause and are having trouble controlling your weight, you’re not alone. Weight control becomes more challenging in the years prior to menopause as hormone levels fluctuate. Most women put on about a pound a year during the perimenopausal period. By the end of menopause, the average woman is ten to fifteen pounds heavier than they were before peri-menopause. Prior to menopause, when a woman gains weight, it’s usually in the hip and thigh region. After menopause, weight gain is more likely to be in the abdomen and waist rather than the thighs and buttocks. This increase in abdominal fat is usually visceral fat, the type that lies deep in the pelvic cavity and increases the risk for health problems like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. That’s why achieving a healthy weight is even more important after menopause.
Menopause and Weight Gain
A recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics looked at post-menopausal weight gain in women. This research points out the challenges women face controlling their weight during perimenopause and menopause. Even with successful weight loss, maintaining a lower weight becomes more difficult as resting metabolic rate drops and appetite hormones increase in an attempt to return the body to its higher “set point.”
Despite the difficulty of losing and maintaining healthy body weight after menopause, researchers were able to identify five dietary habits that make it easier to keep those extra pounds at bay. These include:
Eating fewer desserts and sugar-sweetened foods (It’s those processed carbs again)
Eating more fish (Some research suggests omega-3s in fatty fish helps with fat loss)
Eating fewer fried foods (for obvious reasons)
Drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages (fruit juice and soft drinks)
Eating out less often (Most restaurant meals have “hidden calories” and unhealthy portion sizes)
They also found an association between eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat and dairy with successful weight control post-menopausally.
What about Exercise?
This study didn’t look specifically at the role exercise plays in controlling weight after menopause, but other research points out its importance. As you enter the menopausal years, you lose lean body mass and muscle at a faster rate. This loss of lean tissue leads to a slow-down in metabolism, making weight loss and weight control more challenging. That doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily end up with a plumper mid-section. One of the best ways to reduce the loss of lean metabolically-active tissue is to focus on resistance training and high-intensity exercise. Many women “lighten up” on the intensity of exercise as they grow older at a time when they actually need to focus on increasing the intensity of their aerobic and strength-training workouts.
Weight Gain During Menopause: Is It Inevitable?
It’s possible not to gain weight as you go through menopause, but it’s important not to skimp on exercise. In one study researchers followed 500 premenopausal women for almost 5 years as they entered their menopausal years. One group followed a 1,300 calorie a day diet and burned 1,000 or more calories a week through exercise. The other group didn’t change their diet or exercise habits. The results? Women who exercised and controlled their diet lost 0.2 pounds, while the women who made no changes gained around 5 pounds on average.
The Bottom Line?
Weight control becomes more challenging during the menopausal years. This happens for a variety of reasons – hormonal fluctuations, loss of lean body mass and a decrease in activity levels. The good news? Controlling the amount and composition of your diet combined with a fitness program that includes strength-training will help you stay trim into your menopausal years and beyond.
References:
Medical News Today. “Long-Term Weight Loss Extremely Hard for Post-Menopausal Women”
Circulation. 2001; 103: 32-37.
Related Articles By Cathe:
5 Reasons You Might Be Gaining Weight after Menopause
Why Women Gain Weight After Menopause and How to Prevent It
Why Women Gain Weight During Menopause and How to Prevent It
Why BMI is Not a Good Measure of Obesity in Women After Menopause
