Midlife Weight Gain….Sound Familiar?
So many women struggle with their weight midlife, despite maintaining the diet and exercise routine they’ve had for years. My clients often complain about a shift in fat to the midsection after/during menopause, sounds familiar, well your not alone?
The reality is that weight gain during midlife is common, and about two thirds of women ages 40-60 and nearly ¾ of women over 60 are overweight. On average women post menopause will gain about 0.7kg per year. While this is only a little, it is important to be mindful of your eating habits. Putting on a few kilos, is not a big deal and is natural even, however putting on more then 5kg may pose health risks such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, certain cancers and heart disease. Women who are obese also experience more side effects of menopause !
The reason why this happens is because of our lovely hormone ‘estrogen ‘. As we get older our hormone estrogen reduces. Lean body mass also reduces with age, but we are also less active as our lifestyles do change. Because of all this we are losing muscle tissue, hence we burn fewer calories at rest, couple these changes with unhealthy eating habits…… we have a recipe for weight gain!
Women going through menopause often experience unpleasant side effects. During the menopause transition phase, night sweats, sleep disturbances, and problems with mood are common, this may effect women’s ability to follow a healthy diet and regular exercise program. I often hear clients say they are so tempted at 3pm to go and grab a chocolate bar to combat their low mood and energy, and I say back to them… ‘have a small amount of chocolate as its taste yum… but if your having low mood and energy, chocolate is only a short term fix, best to eat something more nutritious!’ . Similarly, an exercise class may seem daunting after a long day of work and lack of sleep from the night before. But these are the major contributing factors to gaining weight and its important for all women in midlife to be more mindful and diligent to lifestyle choices, particularly diet and exercise.
My Top 5 tips for Nutrition Post Menopause/ During Midlife:
1. Avoid crash diets. As tempting as they sound, Crash / Fad diets don’t work long term. The best diet you do, is one you can stick do for the rest of your life. If your not sure, please book an appointment with me at our clinic and we can together work out a suitable nutrition plan for you pending your body structure and lifestyle patterns,
2. Increase your diet in colourful vegetables. Vegetables are full of soluble fibre and essential nutrients. So they keep you full and a great snack for when you have the munchies… try having some veges sticks with hummus or add a large salad to your lunch time meal.
3. Increase your calcium intake. Your calcium intake dramatically increases post menopause. Most people cut dairy when they gain weight, but sorry guys the research shows those who cut dairy are more likely to gain weight!!
4. Reduce your salt intake will help with fluid retention. The hormone progesterone is decreased during menopause, a lack of progesterone increases fluid retention. Avoid adding salt to your meals and very salty foods e.g crisps and takeaway foods will help with fluid retention
5. 30 minutes of exercise per day - Don’t get me wrong, this does not have to be flogging yourself at the gym, but being more active daily and doing activities your enjoy is very important for helping you prevent muscle tissue loss.
If you would like some help with your nutrition, please don’t hesitate to book an appointment with one of our dietitians at Ward Nutrition …. Phone 5301 6435 for an appointment now!
