Weight Gain During Menopausal Period
Going through menopause and noticing a few extra pounds around your belly? It was rumored that during menopausal, most of women gains weight and fat belly.
One of the foremost menopause symptoms seems to be weight gain and a change in the overall shape of your body. Women can barely maintain their figure because of these changes. Some are going to the gym but still gaining weight while some also look for some good diet medication to help them lose weight.
Though you may not be so happy about this, it is important to keep in mind that this weight gain is normal and to be expected. About 90% of menopausal women gain some weight between the ages of 35 and 55. But you may not necessarily have to blame yourself for this newly acquired weight – research now shows that weight gain during menopause is caused by shifts in your hormones, not greedy eating.
Here are some of the reasons why women increase their weight during and before menopausal:
* Exercising less.
Most menopausal women tend to exercise less than other younger women, which can lead to weight gain.
* Eating more.
Eating more means you’ll take in more calories, which are converted to fat if you don’t burn them for energy.
* Burning fewer calories.
The number of calories you need for energy decreases as you age because aging promotes the replacement of muscle with fat. Muscle burns more calories than fat does. When your body composition shifts to more fat and less muscle, your metabolism slows down.
* Stress.
Stress is also a contributing factor in weight gain in menopause. Stress hormones can prevent weight loss as they signal to your body to go into a storage mode. This is referred to as the “famine effect” – your body, thinking it won’t get food again for a long time, stores every calorie it takes in causing weight gain.
* Hormones.
Your body’s hormones have a direct impact on your appetite, metabolism, and fat storage. This is why it is so difficult to control your weight during menopause: no matter what you do, fluctuating estrogen, testosterone, and androgen levels will fight you all the way.
