12 Ways to Beat Menopausal Belly Fat

As we know, most women gain weight as they age, and natural hormonal changes may also result in experiencing symptoms of menopause, like hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings that seem inevitable. As you get older and transition towards menopause, many women notice that they are not in control of their weight as they transition towards menopause, and that they are gaining fat around their bellies, waists, hips, and thighs. But excess weight gain can be managed by simply following a few lifestyle changes.

Belly Fat – The Annoying Weight Gain

Muscle mass loosens as you age and fats are accumulated in different parts of your body. Loose muscles or lean muscles slow down the rate of metabolism, causing the body to store fat and not use it. And, when a woman is about to transition to menopause, the muscles are likely to accumulate around – the hips, waist and belly, and thighs. Genetic factors also play a major role in menopause weight gain.

The problem of belly fat can be annoying. No clothes fit you like they used to and then there is this constant fear of putting on more weight. Staying healthy and fit is all that runs through your mind. The problem of added pounds can always be taken care of with proper exercise and diet.

If your parents or other close relatives or ancestors carry extra weight around the abdomen then it's possible you may end up doing the same. However, other factors like lack of exercise, unhealthy eating habits and not getting adequate sleep, can even contribute to menopausal weight gain.

Problems with Menopause Weight Gain

Menopause weight gain can affect your body and health for real. Excess weight, especially around your belly, increases the risk of many health problems −

• Heart and blood vessel disease

• Insulin resistance

• Glucose intolerance

• Type2 diabetes

• Breathing problems

• Cancer (breast, colon, and endometrial cancers)

12 Ways to Manage Menopausal Weight Gain

Let us discuss the 12 ways that can help manage menopausal weight gain.

Exercise

Midlife weight gain seems hard to manage but the first step to keep in check with your body is to start moving and doing exercises like swimming, walking, bicycling, running, and resistance, or strength training. Overall, start doing high-intensity interval training (abbreviated as HIIT).

Eating Mindfully

Over the years, we've eaten plenty of foods and formed a basic eating pattern. But you've to rethink whether what you've been eating throughout your life has been helping you now or doing more harm than good. Not all nutrients are met by a steady diet. Processed or refined foods help increase belly fat.

Cutting out on restaurant and takeout meals can control portions. Furthermore, the timing and frequency of your food can make a difference too. Following a diet mindfully can make positive changes to your body.

Adequate Sleep

Ideally, seven to eight hours of sleep is enough for a person to wake up and feel energetic again. But this can be a dream for many menopausal women as insomnia is an extremely common symptom and that transition phase can last for four to eight years. All that time spent waking up unrefreshed means you’re probably feeling too exhausted to do anything which leads to a further increase in your belly fat, as your body is not getting an adequate amount of rest from sleep.

Inadequate sleep also impacts our hunger hormones, ghrelin, and leptin, which can increase our appetite for snacks and sugar. Bring changes by trying to eat before 4 hours you sleep and limiting usage of electronics.

Lowering Your Stress Levels

Anything that is making you feel stressed, look for it and try to find a solution for it, as there is a stress-fat connection. When your body is under constant levels of stress, your cortisol levels increase, and that will make your body deposit fat on your body and may result in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Cutting out on Alcohol

While taking a drink can make you forget about your life for a while. It's not too late to realize that easing up on alcohol and neglecting your health will not take you much far in life, as you've to live with your body. While consuming alcohol may feel like a stress reliever, it’s not a long-term solution for anything. In addition, the extra sugar that is present in the alcohol adds more to your belly fat.

Start Your Day with Lemon Water

While there are many time-consuming activities to do for reducing belly fat, it can be hard to maintain it as a habit and make time for it every day. But a good thing done every day can do wonders, and it can be as simple as starting your day with lemon water or apple cider vinegar that detoxifies your body.

Drink Green Tea

Studies have found that consuming green tea can help in reducing belly fat and make you feel lighter and lighten your mood, making you feel much better after taking it.

Cutting out on Sweets

Excess sugar is the most common reason for menopausal belly fat. Eating too much refined, added sugar can increase insulin that in turn stores excess blood sugar as belly fat.

Quit Snacking

We often turn to emotional eating, not even knowing it. And it can lead to eating more than your actual appetite and hence, increasing the urge for binge eating which leads to increased belly fat.

Try Acupuncture

Acupuncture can also be helpful as it may increase estrogen levels, which can reduce symptoms and help induce better sleep.

Hormone Balance

With the advice of a medical practitioner, you can also check your hormone imbalances and take medications that can help control an imbalance and symptoms, if any.

Consult an Expert

Seek help from your primary healthcare doctor. If you find difficulty in reducing your sugar or alcohol intake, indulging in overeating, or dealing with anxiety or periods of insomnia, we recommend you consult an expert who can address the issues and help you arrive at a solution. By being under supervision, you can take small steps towards good health and overall well-being.

Conclusion

We suggest engaging in activities works way better than relying on medications to prevent menopausal weight gain or the extra muscles around the belly, waist, and hip region. Women who work out, and exercise, are way more active during the chores of the day.

The body responds better to physical activities. And then, some amount of self-love and pampering goes a long way to avoid menopausal weight gain. Your health expert is likely to suggest this too.