Does Menopause And Weight Gain Change You?
Do you recognize these - hot flushes, moodiness, joint pain? Sadly along with these comes menopause and weight gain - all very common. From the star...
Do you recognize these – hot flushes, moodiness, joint pain? Sadly along with these comes menopause and weight gain – all very common. From the start of menopause it’s been calculated that the typical amount of weight gained by women is about 10-15 pounds, that’s more or less one pound a year. It’s part of the joys of going through menopause that the reason for the modifications is how the body produces hormones.
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The Reason Weight Is Gained During Menopause.
The hormones that the body produces begins to wane for the duration of menopause the reason being that there is a decline in the amounts that the body produces. In the end these hormones stop being produced totally.
One of the side-effects that with the reduction in the making of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone is weight gain. There are a couple of different explanations for this. Let’s take estrogen first A further source of estrogen for the body comes from fat tissue. Therefore, to make this hormone the body is fueled to produce more fat tissue thereby compensateing the diminished levels of estrogen.
Testosterone is the next hormone that is a cause of menopause and weight gain because it makes the body’s metabolic rate slow down, the result being you burn less calories when you are resting. Body fat distribution then changes.
Not only will you experience menopausal weight gain, it is also quite usual to be subjected to a change in body shape especially around the middle becoming more of an ‘apple’ rather than a ‘pear’ shape.
Men and women have fat distributed differently around the body, but you may already have noticed this. The traditional saying for a man – ‘a beer gut’ implies that fat tends to gravitate to the midsection and not the limbs or buttocks. For women, however, the fat allocation often goes on the thighs, buttocks and upper arms rather than the midsection.
However, for women, menopause alters all rules of body fat distribution. Fat is now more evenly dispersed all over the body. The reason being there is a shift to the body’s androgen-to-estrogen ratio. In menopausal women there is a rise of androgen, which is primarily a male hormone, this then causes new fat tissue to be formed around the midsection the same as in men.
Is There Something You Can Do About Menopause And Weight Gain?
There is no quick way to treat menopause and weight gain as it is a process you live through, however there are ways to help it. ‘HRT’ or Hormone Replacement Therapy does help in the reduction of weight gain through menopause, however, it’s usually only a short-term measure and the weight continues to rise once you no longer take it.
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There is no other magic pill that you can take so the solution to menopause and weight gain is precisely the same as for any other weight gain: eat small meals frequently, exercise daily and bring in some resistance training. You need to take a good look at the types of foods that you eat, this is something we strongly recommend. Begin some healthy, well balanced eating habits this is a really great time to do so.
Bear in mind that the differences that take place to your body during menopause is perfectly normal, even if it’s not what you want!
Very true. I would like to add one other reason for weight gain in menopause, insulin resistance.
After eating refined carbs for so long, by the time we reach menopause, our bodies have developed a resistance to insulin which causes our blood sugar levels to spike and crash, which makes us hungry and moody, and leads to weight gain.
As you said, the solution is eating small frequent meals (and I would suggest avoiding foods high on the glycemic index) and exercising. (But, oh how lovely it would be if there were a magic pill!)
http://www.estrogensource.com/menopause-and-weight-gain.html