A Look at Menopause and Gaining Weight

In general, menopausal women aren’t having the time of their lives. But menopause symptoms aren’t just about mood swings and hot flashes. Whether you’re in perimenopause or full menopause, you can expect to gain some weight. It’s estimated that most women will gain a pound a year during this time. Do these issues have anything in common? Let’s take a look.

Most experts believe that the hormone levels that are brought about by a woman’s change in life are one cause of weight gain. On the other hand, this is not the only factor that causes a woman to gain weight. Your age and lifestyle are also factors in the changes taking place in your body. The causes of weight gain are largely because of a less active lifestyle and eating too much. Because of this, your body burns fewer calories because of its reduced physical activity. Your body composition alters as the ratio shifts to less muscle and more fat because of metabolic slowdown. Weight gain also depends a lot on your genes. If you come from a long line of stocky people, chances are good that you’ll be the same.

Drastic weight gain can lead to a number of health problems that might exacerbate menopausal symptoms. Experts have proven that women who gain more than 20 pounds after menopause are more prone to breast cancer by approximately 20 percent. But women who lose weight have a better chance of avoiding breast cancer. You can lower your chances of breast cancer by 23 percent by losing 20 pounds.

In order to keep from gaining weight and to maintain optimal health during menopause, a nutritious diet and regular exercise are highly recommended. Daily exercise can increase your metabolism, thus enabling you to burn more fat. Moreover, muscle mass can be increased through strength training, which further increases your metabolism and builds up your bones as well.

The benefits of a proper diet are well documented. However, it has been noted that in order to maintain your weight as you age, your body will need 200 fewer calories a day. This information relates to females in their forties. Once you enter perimenopause, adopting a nutritious eating plan will help you to avoid weight gain later during full menopause.

We should all accept the inevitable changes which will happen to our bodies. If you think that your body will stay like it is right now, think again. We might despise the thought that our bodies won’t be taut forever, regardless of our efforts. But the best approach is to work at controlling the aspects of your health that can be improved.