Menopause can bring numerous side effects that range from irritating to life disrupting — including mood swings, hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats, depression, and fatigue — but one of the most common for many women is weight gain, especially in the belly area (1,2). The phenomenon is common enough to earn the delightful nickname: the “menopot”, thanks to a number of factors unique to menopause (1,3).
In some cases, a certain degree of menopot may be here to stay, especially since genetics is often involved in terms of where you store fat. But even if you’re battling with your genes, it’s often possible to overcome a genetic predisposition through exercise, some research suggests (4).
Changing up how you’re doing things — from eating to stress reduction — can go a long way toward scaling down the size of that menopot (5).
Why You’re Gaining
Usually occurring in women between the ages of 45–55, menopause is caused by a loss of estrogen (6,7). When that happens, you tend to accumulate fat, especially around the abdomen — and also lose muscle mass (1,3).
It has been proposed in a study by Colleluori, G. that when your ovaries stop producing estrogen, your body may search for production elsewhere, and the only other place it’s generated is in the abdominal fat cells (6,8). Which may lead to excess fat storage in an effort to increase estrogen levels (6,8).
Weight around your middle is more than frustrating; it can also increase health risks, including a greater chance of cardiovascular problems and metabolic disease (9).
It is commonly found that women gain weight during their menopause years which likely is related to this estrogen loss-plus-muscle-loss combination. Although many other factors in aging populations also play a part, such as mobility constraints, exercise, appetite and other metabolic changes not related to muscle loss according to Brookell White, MS, RD (1,3,10).
Since muscle burns more calories than fat, this causes a metabolic slow down (3). So, even if you’re eating the same amount you always have, you’re likely not burning the calories at the same rate as you once did (3). Unless you work on building your muscles — muscle mass can decline further, leading potentially to additional weight gain (3).
Lift Heavy Stuff
During menopause and the decade after, bone mass loss speeds up to about a 10% loss on average, which increases risk of osteoporosis (11, 12). Although any kind of exercise is helpful for cardiovascular health, strength training specifically has been shown to help prevent bone loss and maintain bone mass, even in those who already have osteoporosis (11, 12).
“Women at all ages should try strength-training exercises, but it becomes even more important nearing menopause years,” White notes. In addition to potentially lowering weight, this type of exercise can lead to stronger muscles and bones, making things like climbing stairs easier. “It may also help reduce or ease pain and other common symptoms,” says White (13).
The North American Menopause Society’s approach is to combine cardio and strength in some way during the week, to get the benefits of both. Cardio examples are walking, interval training, swimming, or anything that will get your heart rate up, along with lifting weights or doing resistance training 2–3 times per week (14).
Get More Sleep
In addition to focusing on what you’re doing in the kitchen and in the gym, it’s vital to consider other lifestyle tweaks that cannot only help with weight, but also potentially lessen the severity of other menopause issues like depression and mood disruptions (15).
One of the biggest is getting more sleep, since sleep deprivation can increase levels of cortisol, the hormone responsible for your stress response (16). Heightened, chronic cortisol also tends to cause more belly fat storage, so lack of sleep in menopause may feel like a hormonal double whammy (16).
Granted, this can be tricky advice, since the National Sleep Foundation reports many women struggle with insomnia during menopause (17). The organization suggests looking for treatment options that seem to work well for you. It may take time to find something that’s a good fit, but it’s worth trying out some options, considering how vital sleep is to your health (17).
Talk With Your Doc
Whether you’re feeling challenged by weight gain or not, be sure to check in with your doctor about what’s going on.
Your doctor may also suggest additional testing. The main thing to keep in mind is that although you might start to see your weight creeping upward, you don’t have to see the situation as inevitable or irreversible, if that’s not your preference. Get a double check about what’s going on — menopause or not — and make some healthy lifestyle changes in the meantime.
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