What Do You Do About Midlife Weight Gain?
Is perimenopause, menopause, or just midlife, in general, causing you to gain weight?
Weight gain is common for women as they enter perimenopause and beyond. It most certainly happened to me – and yes, the weight gain was in all the wrong places. You know what I mean. That belly and the waistline that seems to be expanding and seems to be stubbornly remaining right where it’s at!
This is partly because of the hormonal changes. It’s simply easier to gain weight at this time of life.
Women can start seeing their weight increasing around the abdomen (“belly fat”), and slowly move from a pear shape to an apple shape. It’s not fun, right? You look in the mirror and you don’t like the reflection that’s glaring back at you. It can be downright depressing at times.
The hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause can be responsible for some of the increased weight gain and change of weight distribution in the body.
However, another factor to keep in mind is that muscle mass generally decreases with age. With reduced muscle mass comes a reduced ability to burn calories which makes it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight. This is especially true for those who continue to eat and have the same lifestyle as they did before approaching menopause.
The good news is that neither peri-menopause nor menopausal weight gain is inevitable. There are many healthy eating and lifestyle habits that can help with this and for the next couple of weeks, I am going to be talking about some things you can implement to help with this issue you may be experiencing.
Pro-Tip: Before we dive in, let me just say that eating better and improving your exercise, sleep and stress management habits can help you with your perimenopause and menopausal symptoms, and help to reduce your risk for these chronic diseases.
Tip #1 – Hydrate
By drinking enough water you are replenishing the fluid lost with hot flashes, night sweats, and exercise. Drinking a glass of water before a meal can sometimes help to reduce the amount we eat. Plus, you’re ensuring that all of your body’s systems work optimally with proper hydration.
Hydration tips:
● You can easily sneak in a glass or two first thing in the morning. Have the glass ready on your nightstand the night before so it’s super-simple to grab as soon as you roll (or jump) out of bed.
● If you don’t like plain water, feel free to add some fresh or frozen berries or other fruit. You can even try herbal tea.
● Keep a large bottle or mug beside you all day. Whether you’re at work or on the go there are so many water bottles and insulated drink containers available.
● If night sweats are a concern, try drinking a cool glass of water before bed.
Tip #2 – Eat More Whole Plant Foods
Plant-based diets are associated with fewer hot flashes.
Plants are full of nutrients and fiber, which many people don’t get enough of. All nutrients like vitamins and minerals are “essential” for a reason – we need enough of all of them to be healthy. Try eating a “rainbow” of different colored fruits and vegetables to cover the spectrum of nutrients.
Fiber helps to fill you up, and keep you feeling fuller longer. It also helps to stabilize your blood sugars and reduce cravings (which is great during menopause because of the increased risk of weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease).
Also, did you know that certain fibers actually feed your friendly gut microbes for added digestive (and overall) health?
More veggies, fruits, beans, nuts, and seeds can be incorporated into just about every meal and snack.
At this time in our lives, our calcium needs to increase. Try incorporating plants with higher amounts of calcium like:
● Sesame & chia seeds
● Almonds, Brazil nuts & hazelnuts
● White, kidney, northern, & black beans
● Leafy greens like collards, mustard greens, spinach, & kale
● Vegetables like French beans
● Seaweed
There is one plant, in particular, I wanted to point out. That is flax.
Flax has been shown to help reduce both hot flashes and the risk of breast cancer.
Flax contains a special type of hormone-balancing compound called “lignan.” It’s also a source of fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Try adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed to your smoothies or baking. You can also sprinkle it on your breakfast, salad, nut butter, etc.
Tip #3 – Eat High-Quality Protein
Protein helps to slightly increase metabolism and give your muscles the amino acids they need to stay strong. It also helps to keep you feeling fuller longer, which is great if hunger and weight gain is a concern. Protein also helps to reduce bone loss that can happen very fast during this time.
Foods with high-quality protein include:
● Meat and poultry
● Fish and shellfish
● Eggs
● Beans and lentils
● Nuts and seeds
Particularly for the animal foods, aim for organic, wild, and/or pasture-raised animals if possible.
So I hope these tips will help get you started. I am going to give you more tips in my next blog, but in the meantime, I would love to know which of these things you do already – or have you never considered that some of these things can help you manage your peri-menopausal or menopausal symptoms? Comment below and let me know.