How To Combat Sudden Weight Gain During The Perimenopause

The perimenopause is "fun" enough with its hot flashes, mood swings, cold sweats, vaginal dryness, and libido changes, so why, oh why does it need to add insult to injury by making you gain weight? By understanding the factors that lie behind sudden weight gain during the perimenopause, you may be able to stop the pounds from piling on.

The Perimenopause Leads To Insulin Resistance

You've got three main hormones called adrenaline, cortisol and insulin. Adrenaline and cortisol are responsible for controlling the response to stress and insulin controls the body's sugar levels. Therefore, there is a link between stress and food because the food we eat can cause us stress and if we are stressed this can cause us to eat the wrong foods.

When the body is producing too many of the main hormones due to stress or overeating, the body cannot produce the hormones we need (such as progesterone and estrogen) in the right quantities, and this puts the body out of alignment. When you are in the perimenopause period, your body develops insulin sensitivity which means it is unable to cope with high levels of simple carbohydrates and sugars such as table sugar and white bread. If this happens the body converts a higher percentage of these types of foods into stored fat. This therefore starves the body of healthy nutrients even if you are gaining weight.

Try to eat a balanced diet that is high in protein and vegetables with brown/whole-wheat carbohydrate sources to get the required amount of carbohydrates to fuel the body. The biggest battle is this increase in glucose and insulin sensitivity can cause food cravings which you need to control.

Stress And Weight Gain During The Perimenopause

The perimenopause period of a woman's life is particularly stressful and adding this to the stresses of everyday life such as work, children and other factors can lead to problems with weight gain. Many women at this age may already be suffering with weight gain and yo-yo dieting so the added stress of potential further gains can wreak havoc on the adrenal system, making weight loss almost impossible.

This then hoards and stores extra calories leading to unusual weight gain and prolonged stress can lead to further problems such as adrenal fatigue. Combine this with a diet high in carbohydrate is a recipe for disaster.

READ 10 Carbs You Should Always Keep In Your Diet

There are some simple ways to try and lower your stress levels at this time by trying some of these simple things:

• Try meditating once a day even for just 10 minutes — take some time alone and just sit and focus on breathing to lower your stress hormones
• Start exercising when possible - try taking a gentle walk every evening to let go of the stresses of the day
• Try to eliminate any sources of additional stress if possible during this time to help your body cope with the added stress

Other Factors Causing Weight Gain During The Perimenopause

Excess Estrogen

Another cause of weight gain during this time is the release of excess estrogen. The reason excess estrogen can cause weight gain is because when estrogen is released in excess, it puts the body out of balance and this makes the body store more fat. During the perimenopause the body releases excess estrogen because the ovaries stop producing the hormone after the menopause,fat cells can produce it — so it prepares the body for the ovaries to stop function.

Combating this it is not as easy as lowering stress and eating, but trying to limit stress at this time will help to avoid the hormone levels becoming heavily unbalanced and further increasing fat storage. Progesterone creams can be used at this time to help combat the excess release of estrogen and exercising can help to control hormone levels.

Emotional Eating

This period in your life an extremely emotional one and with the added release of hormones it can be a time when emotions run wild and certain habits such as emotional eating can occur. Many people turn to food as a source of comfort but this is extremely dangerous because you want to avoid it becoming a life long habit.

Eating certain foods has been shown to help women promote a sense of calm at a time where you may feel particularly alone. It is a good idea to join forums or seek advice from people who have already been through the menopause to try and release the stress in ways that don't avoid emotional eating. Another tip is try and recognize the signs of unusual food cravings such as suddenly eating late at night when you didn't before. If you have partners or family members ask them to help you monitor if you are eating out of character, you need to talk to people or simply get a hug from someone to make you feel better.

Trouble Sleeping

With the added stress that this time provides it can often be difficult to sleep which further causes hormone imbalances. Again these hormonal imbalances can block weight loss and actually promote fat storage. Try to make sure you get a good amount of sleep and relax before you actually go to bed to avoid the chance of insomnia. Get yourself into a routine prior to going to bed of drinking a hot drink or reading to calm the body and get rid of the toxic hormones that keep you awake.

READ Menopause - Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

It is clear that most of the weight gain caused at this time in a woman's life is due to hormone imbalances which can be hard to control, but with simple changes to your daily routine they can be avoided. Keep an eye out for irregular eating patterns or eating foods you wouldn't normally. Try to lower the amount of stress in your life and get plenty of sleep. It is a good time to keep a good social network so that you can talk about any problems you have and share experiences you are going through with others in a similar situation.