When I entered the menopause at around 50, I did experience some hot flashes and a spike in blood pressure, but on the whole I was pleasantly surprised. Other women seemed to talk about the menopause as if it were among the most difficult things they had ever been through, but I really didn't think it was that big of a deal. The one thing I didn't — and don't — like is the fact that I went up two clothes sizes. While I used to wear a European size 36, I now need a size 40. My increased weight seems to adorn my hips, thighs and abdomen.
What's more, all this happened even though I neither started eating more (and may even be eating less now) nor decreased my physical activity. It's incredibly frustrating, and when I look around, it is obvious that I am not the only victim of this phenomenon.
What Causes Menopausal Weight Gain?
With a whopping 90 percent of women gaining weight at around the same time they're entering the menopause, it's easy to conclude that the hormonal changes related to this phase of life are to blame for that notorious middle-age spread. Correlation doesn't equal causation though, and the International Menopause Society organized a study, published in the journal Climacteric (worst journal name I've ever heard, by the way), that dispelled this very persistent myth. It isn't a drop in estrogen that causes those pounds to pile on in menopausal women after all, it turns out.
Lots of things are changing at around the same time you'll enter the menopause, and they can all lead to weight gain. Yes, many women naturally get more stiff and achy when they get to this age, and tend to decrease their levels of physical activity. Many women also become empty-nesters at around the same time they go through the menopause, naturally often diminishing their need to run around like headless chickens and perhaps even increasing their comfort-eating habits!
READ Menopause - Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention
Biology-wise, mind you, your metabolism slows down as you get older. Your muscle mass decreases, while your percentage of body fat goes up. That slower metabolism means that the same amount of food will stick to your reserves more easily, leading to a muffin top. Indeed, you may find yourself exercising like crazy and still not see that flab disappear. There's a genetic component too. If your female relatives became heavier after they entered the menopause, watch it — you are at a higher risk of having the exact same thing happen to you!
Is There Anything You Can Do To Prevent Or Turn Back Menopausal Weight Gain?
The factors that contribute to post-menopausal weight gain in women seem to be highly multi-factorial and largely uncontrollable too! You can't prevent the menopause, change your genes, or stop the process of getting older, after all! Does that mean that you are doomed to be a round lady then? The answer is complex, so first let's look at the things you can indeed do to prevent post-menopausal muffin top and beyond.
Exercise!
Exercise is certainly good for you, and the older you get, the more important it is to think of reasons for working out beyond looking great. Regular exercise in postmenopausal women lowers their risk of osteoporosis (brittle bones), as well as heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, it also keeps your joints and muscles strong, increases your insulin resistance, and improves your overall health. It will also contribute to a lean and mean body.
About Eating
The theory says that your metabolism slows down. The fact that I've neither decreased my physical activity nor started eating more yet still gained weight after the menopause seems to confirm that on an anecdotal level, and I know I'm far from alone there. Does that mean you should go on a diet for the rest of your life to maintain (or recover) a slim figure then? Well, if you're legitimately eating too much or too much of the wrong foods, then yes, you can take a look at your habits.
Mind you, don't fall into the starvation trap. Eating less than you should actually sends your body the message that you're starving, and guess what that does? Yep, it slows your metabolism down even further. That in turn means that the foods you do eat contribute to weight gain ever more, making eating too little not just unpleasant and unhealthy, but also in fact counter-productive. Eat for health, not for weight.
What you can indeed do is avoid eating later in the evening, steer clear of processed foods as much as possible, and eat smaller portions more often in the day to prevent sending your body that "store fat now" message. Do not skip breakfast, without which you may gain weight faster, either.
READ Perimenopause Problems: Depression, Bleeding and Weight Control
The Bottom Line
If you can improve on your eating habits and increase the old exercise a little (or a lot, as the case may be), then those are great things to do. However, though gaining weight after the menopause is irritating and something I personally wish one thing I wouldn't have experienced, if you are active and healthy and still a few pounds heavier than you were before, do you really want to sacrifice your quality of life? Taking drastic measures such as starvation diets, diet pills, or even over-exercising isn't good for you. The bottom line is that age does change you. I may be a little rounder than I was before I entered the menopause, but I'm not going to let that stand in the way of a healthy life. Unless you are clinically overweight, I'd encourage you to take the same attitude.
- Photo courtesy of alancleaver: www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/4222533261/
- Photo courtesy of Braiu: www.flickr.com/photos/braiu_74/23260390571/