You’re in your 40’s and you notice a certain change in your waistline, while your clothes stubbornly refuse to contain your thighs, buttocks, and breasts. Is this a secret rebellion of your clothes against you? No, dear, as much as you don’t want to hear that, it’s your body going through pre-menopause symptoms, deviously sneaking into your belly and other parts of your body.
Is Menopause Linked to Weight Gain?
One of the first symptoms and effects of menopause installing into your body is weight gain. Belly, thighs and other places fat that is hard to melt down afterward. At least, harder than it was before. To some, it feels impossible to shed off this pre-menopause fat.
What Causes Menopause?
It’s not your fault. It’s just your human nature following its course. Aging is part of it. After 40’s, signs of aging start to sneak in, little by little.
Hormones undergo massive changes, accumulated stress takes it toll on your body, and the ticking clock of nature keeps marching.
Menopause, welcome! Or not!
Normally, menopause is declared installed in a woman if she didn’t have any menstrual cycle for 12 months in a row. During this time, (but usually, starting before, with 5 to 10 years before) she notices many body changes, including weight gain that is hard to lose.
Factors that trigger weight gain during menopause are:
- Hormonal changes – fluctuating estrogen levels cause weight gain.
- Weakening of muscles – with age, physical activity and exercising decreases, which leads to loss of muscle mass and strength.
- Difficulties falling asleep or sleeping – insufficient sleep and a low quality of sleep lead to weight gain
- Insulin resistance – this effect of aging makes it difficult to lose weight.
That is why it is important to have a healthy lifestyle and routine that makes this stage of life harmonious and help you keep your weight stable.
Healthy Eating
1). The Low-Carb Diet
Many recent studies show that low-carb diet (compared to low-fat diet) is better for weight loss and maintaining a healthy body structure. The ketogenic diet is one of them.
2). The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet helps you lose weight and improves your overall health during menopause.
3). The Vegetarian Diet
Both vegetarian and vegan diets help with weight loss, metabolism, insulin resistance, balance hormones, improve sleep and mood.
Nobody said you should NEVER eat ice-cream again! Ever! You can just eat ice-cream with a twist. For example, eat dairy-free and sugar-free ice-cream! See, it’s THAT easy!
Want a DIY Quick Fun Healthy and No-Guilt Ice-cream?
- 1 ripe Avocado
- 1 teaspoon raw Cocoa powder
- 1-2 teaspoons raw Honey
Blend the ingredients. Put in the freezer for a couple of hours. Enjoy!
Tip: you can replace the cocoa with vanilla bean, fruit pulp, mint leaves, lemon juice and any delicious combination you may crave for.
Fiber to fill you up and Strip you Down of Weight
Include high-fiber foods (flax seeds, broccoli) or supplements, such as psyllium. They help you clean your gut, increase metabolism, reduce appetite, increase insulin sensitivity, and promote weight loss.
Healthy Colon for Weight Loss
A clean healthy colon means a detoxed body, hormonal balance, regulates insulin production, controlled weight, health, and wellbeing. A colon cleanse is recommended at least 2 times per year with a natural supplement such as Nutriflair 15 Day Quick Colon Cleanse and Detox.
Probiotics can help women at menopause to control they weight with a clean healthy colon and many other benefits.
Nutriflair Probiotic Supplement with 50 Billion CFU and 10 different strains of friendly bacteria support women at menopause with a healthy digestive system, detoxification, regular intestinal movement, and losing weight.
Herbal Supplements to Support Weight Loss
Garcinia Cambogia is one of the best herbs that can help you lose weight without much diet or exercise. The hydroxycitrinic acid (HCA) in Garcinia Cambodia suppresses appetite and burns fat before it even accumulates in the body.
Exercise
Many women become less active with age. And that has an impact on their body weight, especially during menopause. That is why, it is important to make a minimum effort to exercise, keep your body in shape, balance hormones, bring the happy hormones and neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin), tone your muscles, strengthen your bones, burn fat and get a flat stomach again.
What types of exercises are better to reduce belly fat and weight gain at menopause?
- Resistance training
- Repetitive training
- Aerobic exercises
How much exercise do you need? You don’t need to do it daily, but it’s necessary to do it regularly, repetitively, 2-3 times a week, to get results and then keep them constant.
Are there any Fun exercises with benefits? Oh, yeah!
- Dancing
- Belly dancing
- Zumba
- Love-making
Quality Sleep
Menopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, stress and other hormonal changes will mess up your sleep.
Help? There are many natural ways to improve sleep and treat insomnia.
Meditate to Lose Weight
We’re not asking you to meditate of your future self with an hourglass shape. Meditation helps you relax your body and mind, promote hormonal balance, good sleep, happiness, and wellbeing. Women at menopause can greatly benefit from it.