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Menopause and Weight Gain
by Susan Megge Similar Articles Menopause and Weight Loss During menopause, many women report that the challenge of weight loss becomes even more difficult. The need to lose weight haunts women most of the time, and now more men are reporting the same struggle. When women hit menopause, weight gathers around the waist and hips; despite our best efforts to diet and exercise. What we know is that this… Lose Menopause Weight Gain As you approach menopause, it’s not unusual to gain weight, especially around your mid-section. You have likely not changed your eating habits or level of activity, but the weight continues to accumulate, even if you’re still experiencing regular periods. Most women begin to notice this added weight while they’re in their thirties or forties, and… The Truth on Menopause and Weight Gain One of the major causes of weight gain in women is the changes in their hormone levels and sedentarism. Studies show that about 90 percent of menopausal women experience weight gain between the ages 35 to 55. This is not surprising because weight gain comes with the territory of aging and menopausal. Medical experts say that menopause occurs when… Menopause and Diet Many women have found that special menopause diets can minimize the symptoms of menopause and make the change of life transition much easier and smoother. Menopause diets are a good alternative to prescribed medication and are good for those who worry about adverse side effects. Most all gynecologists recommend that women who are in their… Menopause and Dizziness Unfortunately during menopause, the explosive symptom of dizziness is all too common. You know the feeling — a spinning sensation inside your head ripping down through the rest of your body making it impossible to be at peace. Or the inability to get up quickly not unlike the sensation you have when just hopping out of a roller coaster. In…
If you're like many women who are thirty-and-forty-something, you've probably noticed that you're gaining weight that stubbornly refuses to take its departure. You're also probably thinking that this extra weight couldn't possibly be due to menopause — after all, you're still experiencing regular periods. Weight gain in pre-menopausal women is quite normal because menopause actually occurs in three major stages and can take 15 years or longer, depending on your age and family history. The first stage of menopause is known as perimenopause, and symptoms include spotting, hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, irregular periods and weight gain. Most women will notice weight gain as one of the first symptoms of menopause, especially around the abdomen. This is due to the fact that their hormone levels are declining drastically. One of the hormones that will have an effect on women as they approach and experience menopause is estrogen, which is the female sex hormone that is responsible for causing monthly ovulation. During your menopausal years, your estrogen levels decline rapidly, causing your body to eventually stop ovulating. This is the hormone that seems to play a big role in menopausal weight gain. When your ovaries produce less estrogen, your body will look for other places from where to get needed estrogen. Fat cells in your body can produce estrogen, so your body works harder to convert calories into fat to increase estrogen levels. Another hormone responsible for your new body is androgen, which can be blamed for sending your new weight to your middle section. In fact, weight gain during these menopausal years is often referred to as “middle age spread” due to the rapid growth of the mid-section. Often, this is one of the very first signs of menopause. Women also experience a drop in their testosterone levels during these years. While it’s true that testosterone is known as the “male hormone,” women have testosterone too, and this hormone helps your body to create lean muscle mass out of the calories that you consume. Since muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells do, with higher testosterone levels you’ll have increased metabolism. Because your body is producing less testosterone during menopause you’ll notice a loss of muscle, an increase in body fat and a much lower metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, so the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. As you know, the lower your metabolism, the slower your body burns calories.
Women can benefit a great deal by committing to a regular exercise routine. It's important to know that weight training plays a very important role in losing the extra weight you've gained. You can keep the weight off by building muscle to help burn calories. In summary, every woman's hormone levels decline at some point in their lives. Yes, this is going to result in some uncomfortable symptoms, but it's certainly not the end of the world. You can naturally reduce a lot of menopausal symptoms by simply making some lifestyle changes that will help to make you look and feel beautiful and energized. Similar Articles Menopause and Heart Palpitations Menopause isn’t typically a life threatening condition – but in extreme cases, it can bring upon symptoms like rapid heart beat that feel like it is. The occasional feeling that your heart “skips a beat” does not necessarily indicate a serious medical problem. For those with menopause, rapid heart beat should be monitored by your doctor to check… Menopause and Anxiety The mid-life phenomenon known as menopause and the stresses of anxiety go hand in hand. Panic attacks, rushes of energy, burning in the chest, unusual vibrations throughout the body, and warm sensations are some of the physical effects you may feel under this condition. When menopause hits, there is a greater chance women will go through anxiety… Menopause and Fatigue For menopause sufferers, fatigue it is all too common. Some women report lying on the couch with their eyes closed unable to move for long periods of time. Or they experience mental fatigue that provides for feelings of indifference and an overall slumber from day to dusk that makes them unable to perform activities with maximum effort. Fatigue… Menopause and Depression Many women experience bouts of depression as they approach menopause. As a matter of fact, midlife can be considered a period of increased risk for depression in women, the majority taking place in the years during the transition through the menopausal years. This period of time is associated with gradual declines in estrogen levels, which may be… Menopause and Complications Usually one in some 100 women will experience ovarian failure before the age of 40. A chilling fact is that a lot of them have complications because of this and some half of million women in the United States must have hysterectomies. Other severe complications would involve the complete removal of both ovaries. Complications will most often… Menopause and Yeast Infections Caused by an overgrowth of Candida albicans, a fungus, yeast infections are the most common of all vaginal infections. Yeast infections are not sexually transmitted and are often caused by menopause. Of all vaginal infections, yeast infections are one of the main symptoms of menopause, caused by the fluctuating hormones leading to bacteria in the… Menopause and Anger During Perimenopause, in the transitional period before menopause, women experience a number of emotional problems and mood swings, including anger, in addition to physical changes. According to experts, perimenopause does not cause anger and other mood swings, but fluctuations in hormone production during perimenopause trigger anger, depression… Menopause and Insomnia Insomnia is a very common symptom reported by numerous women at the onset of menopause. It is characterized by sleepless nights and often uncomfortable sleep such as tossing and turning in an effort to get comfortable. If you are primarily a mentally active person, it can become very difficult to calm the mind. You feel restless and irritable.… Menopause and Estrogen As we age, is the loss of estrogens what causes the onset of peri-menopause and finally, menopause? For women, menopause is a direct result of the loss of estrogens in the female anatomy. The ?E?, as it is called in medical circles, is a group of female hormones produced in the ovaries. These female hormones are responsible for regulating the… Menopause and Diabetes Menopause can cause hormone levels to change, and can also cause blood glucose levels to change. Hypoglycemia can be one of the first signs of menopause for a diabetic woman. During menopause, women often have to change their medication or insulin dosages. Monitoring the blood glucose levels is the key to managing diabetes during diabetes. Women… Menopause and Mood Swings Menopause can bring on mood swings that make you not recognize yourself. You know, where the slightest request from your husband can cause you to go off. Or perhaps the cries of your child for a new Playstation game makes you lose it. For me, I would be standing in a grocery story line and see a small child and begin to weep uncontrollably.… Menopause and Weight Gain - What's the Connection? Numerous studies have shown that menopause and weight gain go hand in hand. There are probably many different factors that cause weight gain during menopause, but some studies suggest that the weight gain is related to decreased estrogen levels. Gaining weight is frustrating and health threatening. It can also affect a woman’s sense of well being.… Menopause and Hair Loss Menopause causes many biochemical changes in your body and often menopause and hair loss occur simultaneously. Rather menopause causes hair loss in women. Although women rarely turn bald due to menopause and hair loss, it occurs mainly as thinning of hair. Before menopause, high estrogen levels negate the effects of low testosterone levels.… Menopause and Headaches During the mid-life phenomenon known as menopause, changes in headache type, duration and intensity are more common. Throbbing, explosive headaches can pain the sides of your head, and your energy become totally depleted. The slightest opening of an eye can cause a ripple of pain to burst on one side of your fragile head, leaving you in physical… Menopause and Progesterone Do women going through menopause have lowered levels of progesterone? Recent research tells us that women do suffer from decreased levels of progesterone and also experience other symptoms such as unexplained weight gain (particularly in the stomach area), depression, fatigue, hair loss, memory loss, mood swings, migraines and loss of libido. A… The views of the authors are owned by them alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of
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