How to lose weight during menopause.

Karen Fitzpatrick-Dame, ChhC, AADP

If you're in menopause, there are 5 things you need to know about weight management.

  • Our metabolism slows down with aging and is definitely a factor.
  • Our lifestyle also changes in midlife which contributes to weight issues.
  • Hormone changes you are experiencing in menopause definitely affects your body composition. We know that in addition to changes with age, women gain and extra 1.5 lbs. a year and they gain it more centrally, in the middle, and that's not a good health predictor.
  • Estrogen changes your metabolism. It changes your insulin sensitivity, so your blood sugars become harder to manage and that effects your appetite, your cravings, your eating patterns, as well as your energy level.
  • Menopause symptoms also contribute to challenges with weight management. Menopause symptoms like poor sleep and mood changes affect your appetite and that is also linked to weight gain.

All of this does not mean that you are doomed to gain weight in midlife. Understanding these mechanisms helps you to make the changes needed to help with weight issues.

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