Perimenopause Weight Gain: Here’s Why The Usual Diet Plan Doesn’t Work For Perimenopausal Women
I was having dinner with a couple of my 30-something girlfriends last night and as what inevitably happens when a group of girls come together, we talked about weight.
The common theme that evening seems to be how easy it is gain weight in our midsection and thighs and how difficult it suddenly became to lose weight. Our metabolism seemed to have slowed down overnight. We get bloated easily. We eat less, and yet we seem to accumulate more fat. And no matter how hard we exercise or modify our diet, the stubborn fat just wouldn’t go.
Now, people who don’t understand will just shrug it off and say that you just need to try a different sort of diet or exercise some more. Some might even jokingly suggest you consider cosmetic surgery.
Well, it might be too early to consider cosmetic surgery, but it’s just about right to think that this could be another perimenopausal symptom that comes with being in this stage of our lives.
It’s a little known fact how the sudden drop in estrogen levels in our bodies could affect how our body digests our food and stores fat, resulting in this phenomenon called the perimenopause weight gain.
Estrogen has a positive effect on digestion. It stimulates our body to produce more digestive enzymes which allows us to digest and make use of energy in food more efficiently.
During perimenopause, our ovaries produce fluctuating levels of estrogen. Our body struggles to cope with this hormonal imbalance and seeks to repair it by extracting estrogen from secondary sources, one of which is body fat. This makes fat important for our body, thus making it less willing to let go of it.
Stress and a diet that is low-fat and high-carb also contribute to our bodies creating more fat. A host of other hormones are also involved such as insulin which is responsible for converting carb and sugars to energy. Having a diet rich in carbs and sugars may cause insulin resistance, which then allows the carbs we eat to be converted into fat. Without sufficient estrogen, our body becomes more susceptible to these effects of stress and a faulty diet.
So how do we safely combat these weight issues during perimenopause?
There is no shortcut, no crash diet, no wonder pill or supplement that can conveniently solve our weight problems. The best way is to start eating healthy.
Don’t concern yourself with losing weight. Initially, you want to make sure you build a habit of making healthy food choices. Once you’ve established that, you will find that your body will naturally regulate itself, attaining both a figure and a weight that is ideal.
You might be wondering, “How do I start eating healthy?”
Here are some tips to get you started:
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Limit your carbohydrate intake.
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Try to incorporate food that is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in your diet found in fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna and various oils like flaxseed oil and evening primrose oil.
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Stay away from processed foods that contain hydrogenated oils because they impede your body’s ability to process the good fats of the foods rich in omega acids.
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Learn about the essential vitamins and minerals that will help your body function better during perimenopause like zinc, vitamin E, vitamin B6, magnesium, calcium and vitamin D.
Start calibrating your diet today and you just might be surprised how it will improve not only your weight and your figure, but your overall feeling of wellness as well.
Here's How You Can Solve Perimenopause Weight Gain and Other Perimenopause Symptoms
Learning more about perimenopause is essential to conquering it. Join our FREE mini course and get the answers you are looking for. Find out:
- What Perimenopause is and how it affects your body's functioning
- How to tell when Perimenopause begins and when it will end
- What symptoms to expect now that you are in Perimenopause
- How to treat Perimenopause symptoms (including weight gain) using medicine and natural remedies found in your home
- How to have the right diet and how to make the correct lifestyle changes that will help you overcome Perimenopause symptoms
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