Oftentimes, weight gained before menopause can be difficult to lose once menopause hits. But it is not entirely impossible to lose said weight. There is a multitude of steps you can take to lose this weight. Instead of worrying about everything you eat and focusing solely on the amount of calories you intake, it is much better you put most of your focus into maintaining a healthy lifestyle with an appropriate diet along with regular physical activities and exercises. Now, let’s begin our deep dive and explore some weight-losing options during menopause.

Menopause and Weight Gain – Understanding The Connection

Just hold on a minute before exploring weight loss options, let’s get to the root of the issue. Why exactly do you gain weight during menopause? Well, there are a variety of reasons why you tend to put on weight easily during menopause. The main reason is hormonal imbalance. Menopause leads to lower levels of estrogen in the body which, while increasing fat, decreases your muscle mass. Lower muscle mass means you will have difficulty burning off calories. According to Dr Katie Klingberg, midlife is a time of change and elevated levels of stress as their children enter their teenage years, and new concerns take place as parents age.

Weight Loss Options

Now let’s get to the main point that we wrote this whole article for:

1. Physical Activity: No matter what is the cause of weight gain, physical activities still remain the optimal way to reduce any unwanted weight. If you want to get more specific, you can try aerobic exercises to reduce weight after menopause with a recommended timing of at least 150 minutes per week. Resistance training also helps in these weight reduction matters.
2. Observe a Healthy Diet: While it is true that you don’t need to focus solely on diet for weight reduction after menopause. It is still recommended that you make sure what you are eating isn’t too high in carbohydrates and calories. A healthy diet is not only good for weight reduction but may also alleviate symptoms of high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
3. Manage Your Stress Levels Accordingly: You can implement relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga and deep breathing to keep those stress levels in check by cutting down the cortisol levels present in your body.
4. Improve Your Sleep Cycle: All steps to improvement begin with ensuring that you get a good night’s sleep to truly give your body the rest it deserves. Scientifically, enough sleep minimizes the level of the hormone ‘Ghrelin’, preventing overeating.
5. Get Rid of Smoking and Alcohol: Smoking acts as a villain to your breathing and puts you at risk of many cardiovascular diseases during menopause. Overindulging in alcohol is a key factor in weight gain and also exposes you to many issues like diabetes and many forms of cancer.

Key Takeaways

Lower levels of estrogen during menopause are the key culprit for weight gain in women. They can be counteracted by making some lifestyle and dietary changes.