Your Menopause and Weight Gain

Sad, but so true, one of the #1 most common symptoms of menopause is weight gain, as well as a change in the overall shape of your body.

About 90% of pre menopausal and menopausal women gain weight, an average of 10-15 pounds.

Women who have an early menopause or surgical menopause (due to cancer treatments or hysterectomies) may experience more rapid and extreme weight gain. Lovely!

Here's the kicker, when it comes to menopause and weight gain - you may be eating and exercising exactly the same way you always were, but you still can't seem to maintain your previous weight. You continue to gain, and it seems to be landing right around your middle?

As you enter the early stages of pre menopause, maintaining weight becomes more and more difficult, and losing weight becomes almost impossible. This is because of a fluctuation in your hormones.

Your hormones have direct impact on your appetite, your metabolism and fat storage. This is why it is so difficult to control your weight gain during menopause, no matter what you do. Fluctuating Estrogen, Progesterone, and Androgen will fight you all the way.

Estrogen:
This is the female sex hormone that is responsible for causing monthly ovulation. During female menopause, your estrogen levels decline rapidly, and your body will stop ovulation. Estrogen also seems to play a big role in the weight gain. As your ovaries produce less estrogen, your body works harder to convert calories into fat; the fat is used to increase those depleting estrogen levels. Unfortunately for you, fat cells don't burn calories the way muscle cells do, which causes you to pack on unwanted pounds.

Progesterone:
As we enter menopause, progesterone levels will also decrease. Like estrogen, lover levels of this hormone can be responsible for weight gain, or at the least, the appearance of it. Water retention and menopause often go hand in hand, since water weight and bloating are due to the decreasing progesterone levels. Your clothes will probably feel tighter and you may - ok, you will - feel heavier.

Androgen:
This hormone is responsible for sending your new pounds directly to your middle section (oh, joy!). In fact, menopause and weight gain is often known as the "middle age spread" because of the rapid growth of the mid section. Often, one of the first signs of menopause is an increase of androgen in your body, which causes you to gain weight around your abdomen instead of around your hips and hind end.

Drops in the hormone testosterone, insulin resistance and stress are all big contributors to your weight gain during menopause as well. Constant inactivity and thyroid disorders also come into play.

The bottom line is that our hormonal imbalances can decrease lean muscle mass, thus, fewer calories will be burned. The cells need less energy and thus store more fats, which will then accumulate in and on the body. You, as a smart, unique, put-together woman, have many ways to address this change, as well as your menopause and weight gain.