Losing Weight After Menopause

Is losing weight after menopause an impossibility? So many women, at the onset of menopause, suddenly find themselves putting on weight, even when they have done nothing to change their eating habit nor activity regimens. So it looks, from the outside, like losing weight after menopause is unavoidable.

The key to losing weight after menopause, however, is knowing exactly what is going on in your body, so that you are not disheartened when the weight comes on or refuses to go. It means learning a whole new set of skills to take care of yourself. Losing weight after menopause is not as difficult as it would, at first, appear.

The years when menopause begins are, for women, a time of slowing down. The kids are grown, the house doesn’t get dirty quite as quickly as before, and in general, demands upon a woman’s time tend to diminish. On top of all of this, the act of aging is causing the metabolism to slow. Put those two facts together, and you’ve got a pretty solid case for weight gain.


Another factor that makes losing weight after menopause difficult is fluctuating hormones. The ovaries are shutting down, so the body’s usual source for estrogen is diminishing. What may surprise you to learn is that your fat cells are quite capable of producing estrogen. This makes your fat quite valuable to your body. Needless to say, your body does not want to give up the fat, and this makes losing weight after menopause that much more difficult.

But, losing weight after menopause is more than necessary. New fat that is being stored after menopause is being stored differently than in the past. It is being stored in amongst your body’s organs. This fat is called visceral fat and it directly interferes with organ functions. In fact, visceral fat has been linked to such serious diseases as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, among others.

But the most important factor that makes losing weight after menopause difficult is a woman’s lifestyle. After years of eating low-fat, high carb foods, a body has a tendency to become insulin resistant. The result is more of the calories being stored as fat instead of being burned off by insulin. So your dietary choices are going to need examination and possibly overhauling.

It is a great idea, when making a battle plan for losing weight after menopause, to speak with a nutritionist about food choices and menu-planning. A qualified nutritionist can advise you where you can make changes to your diet that will benefit you the most. You may also want to consult your doctor about hormone replacement, to ease those fluctuating-hormone-blues. It’ll make the hot flashes go away, too, besides easing your efforts at losing weight after menopause. After all, if your body is getting the necessary amount of estrogen it needs, it won’t have to hang on to your fat so much.

And of course, we have to mention your activity levels. Losing weight after menopause is going to require exercise. If you’ve been rather sedentary to this point, then you may not aren’t interested in regular exercise routines. But since it’s necessary, consider finding some activities you can enjoy that will get you moving and breathing. Dancing is fun and so is swimming. Losing weight after menopause doesn’t have to be about running a marathon (unless you like doing that), but you can make it fun.

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