How to beat
It’sanaturalstageoflifethatjusthappenstohaveafew
unwantedsideeffects.HFGdietitianMelissaMeierweighs
upweightmanagementformenopausalwomen.whichinturnslowsdownyour
metabolism—soyoudon’tneed
asmuchenergytomaintainyour
bodyweightasyoupreviously
did.Theproblem,however,isthat
althoughkilojoulerequirements
lessen,manypeopledon’tadjust
theireatinghabits—sotheyput
onweightovertime.
Someresearchalsosuggests
thataboutthetimeofmenopause
(peri-menopause),levelsofthe
hungerhormoneghrelinbecome
elevated,whichcandrivewomen
toeatmorethanusual.
Inconjunctionwiththis,levels
ofthehormoneoestrogendrop
duringmenopause.Thismakes
womenmorepronetogaining
weightaroundtheirmid-section
ratherthanaroundtheirhips,
bottomorthighs—think‘apple’
bodyshapesinsteadof‘pear’.H
otflushes?Nightsweats?Howaboutthinning
hairandmoodswings?Welcometotheworld
ofmenopause!Oh,anddidwemention,the
frustrationoftryingtomaintainahealthyweight,too?
Theaveragewomanputsonhalfakiloayearbetween
45 and55.Thegoodnewsisthatsomesimplelifestyle
changescanhelpyoucombatthekilogramcreep.
Here’swhatyouneedtoguideyoualongtheway.Menopausebeginstokickinwhenawoman
hasexperiencedherlastmenstrualperiod,
duetohormonalchangesanddepletion
ofeggsinherovaries.Amongthecluster
ofphysicalandemotionalsymptomsthat
candevelop,manywomennoticethat
theirweightstartstocreepup—andthey
findtheweightfrustratinglyharderto
shiftthantheyoncedid.
Abigreasonforweightgainduringthis
timeisthatwomentendtobecomelessactive
withage.Thisleadstoalossofmusclemass,MENOPAUSAL
WEIGHT GAIN
What happens
during menopause?JUNE 2019 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 31