Menopause

MENOPAUSE WEIGHT GAIN

Learning to accept and live with menopause weight gain and other changes.

Can’t seem to button up your pants? Do you feel like your clothes have shrunk one size smaller than it was? Before you start suing the clothes brand or putting the blame on the new detergent you have been using, look at yourself in the mirror. Did your clothes really shrunk or did your tummy just grew big? Before you start running to your ob-gyn for prenatal check-ups, you might want to stop and think. Are you pregnant or simply having signs of menopause?

Menopause weight gain happens gradually as early as the perimenopause stage. Women would notice that their menopause weight gain is more concentrated around the belly or abdomen instead of around the hips and thighs. People term this as the “apple” shape due to the rounder shape of the belly. Women who are having menopause weight gain will lose the “pear” body shape they used to have because it will become increasingly harder for them to distribute their weight evenly around their bodies.

Women who have early menopause will notice a more abrupt and intense menopause weight gain concentrated around the belly as well. As with those that have “normal” menopause, female experiencing early menopause will find it difficult to evenly distribute their menopause weight gain.

Menopause is as hard to deal with as it is without the weight gain. But what women find harder to accept is the fact that the menopause weight gain is a natural effect of menopause. It is not caused by your lack of physical exercise or your new habit of stopping at the pastry shop more often in a week.

Menopause weight gain is inevitable. The hormones in your body have a great influence on your metabolism, fat storage, and even your appetite. That is why the same amount of exercise and the quality of foods that you have had since puberty may not exactly work well during your menopausal life.

While menopause weight gain may be as an unwelcome thing as hair loss, women should try to see the “good” side of it. Gaining a little weight during menopause may actually lessen some menopausal symptoms like hot flushes, and can even help women fight osteoporosis and other diseases.  However, excessive menopause weight gain can cause one to have serious illnesses as well. Thus, indulging in weight management program can assist you in achieving a healthy body weight.

Menopause weight gain is not the evil that we all perceive it to be. Making the right food choices and living healthy lifestyles years before the onset of menopause can reduce the burden of dealing with unwanted weight gain. And keep in mind that abrupt weight loss won’t let you have curves at the right places.