Menopause Diet Tips

If you are a woman who has reached the Menopause stage of life, you may have noticed an unwelcome change in your body shape. You are certainly not alone! At this time, around two thirds of women experience weight gain or difficulty maintaining their usual weight. On average, women will gain about 10 to 15 pounds during their menopausal years. You also discover that the weight gain tends to accumulate around your abdomen, rather than your hips and thighs as it did before menopause. People commonly refer to this as an "apple" shape, because the stomach area becomes more round. An extra pound before menopause will settle evenly over hips, bottom, thighs, and arms. After menopause, it all goes round the middle! Most of this weight will come on gradually - generally about a pound a year.

As you enter the early stages of menopause, maintaining weight becomes more and more difficult, and losing weight seems almost impossible. This is because of the fluctuation in your hormones. Your body's hormones have a direct impact on your appetite, metabolism, and fat storage. At this stage, women develop "insulin resistance" making their bodies store fat, rather than burn calories. This "insulin resistance" changes how our bodies handle the foods we eat. For example, if you ate 1,000 calories before menopause, you would burn 700 of them and store around 300. After menopause, your body will store 700 and burn only 300! This is a big difference, and the result is weight gain! Even a modest weight gain can result in a change of dress size.

Excessive weight gain could also be a sign that something is wrong with your hormone levels, blood sugars, or eating habits. Visit your doctor if your weight gain is out of control. Excessive fat stored around the abdomen can lead to an increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, breast cancer, and high cholesterol.