Menopause Weight Loss | Ask Yvette
Menopause Weight Loss
A lot of women struggle with weight problems over their lives, but even those who have not had any issues can start to struggle when they hit the menopause. On top of all the other symptoms, here comes another sign that we are getting old – exactly what is needed – NOT!
I can remember a then pregnant friend’s husband telling her in front of our group “you won’t get fat after you’ve had the baby like they all do, will you?!”. I remember thinking ‘what a douchebag’. I’ve now noticed quite a few women posting on social media that their husband is making comments about their weight struggle and the same words come to mind. Especially as I seriously doubt that either Chris Hemsworth or Tom Hardy have anything to worry about.
For most women, the menopause will co-incidence with that time of life when the body’s metabolism is starting to slow down, which together with the imbalance in hormones results in the body storing fat, particularly around the middle.
If you are struggling with weight, being honest with yourself can help.
- Is your weight gain due to those extra chips or that extra slice of cake you awarded yourself, just because you could or thought it might make you feel better? Some of us turn to food when we are down and it’s amazing how quickly that full pack of biscuits can disappear while you’re cooking dinner.
- Could you be eating more than you realise? Various TV programmes on weight control have started by asking the people how many calories they think they are eating daily and then recording them to reveal the actual number consumed. Keeping a diary of everything you’ve eaten may help.
- Are you one of those mums who hates food waste? If you have kids (regardless of their age!), they often have fads that can disappear within minutes, leaving you with either packs of not so healthy food taking up room in the freezer or a pack or 2 of something that is about to go off on a fridge shelf. So, you’d rather eat these rather than consign them to the bin.
- It can also be very easy to eat family leftovers as you’re clearing the dishes as well as having eaten your normal portion. Those extra 3 fish fingers, mash and gravy, etc can pile up on a weekly basis.
- Do you have a mainly sedentary job and find it hard to find time for exercise? It’s all very well for physical trainers to say “if you really wanted to lose weight, you would find the time” when you’re a single mum struggling to get the kids to school/college before you fight the traffic to get into work, get home to supervise homework, cook dinner, clean up after everyone, do the laundry, etc. Yes of course my tired body wants to get up even earlier than I’m already struggling to do and pump iron. No thanks!
- That glass of varying size that you’ve been awarding yourself when you get home can contain between 70 and 90 calories per 100ml depending on the wine. Diet free soda is no cop out, especially given the health issues associated with a lot of artificial sweeteners. And let’s face it, those accompanying snacks are quite often loaded with saturated fat and salt!
- Stress can be a huge contributor to weight gain, causing cortisol (the fight or flee hormone) to be secreted in large amounts. When this happens over a prolonged period, this can lead to other issues such as chronic fatigue and insulin resistance.
Be honest with yourself, if your downfall are those triple chocolate cookies, then just don’t buy them – you can’t eat them if they aren’t in the cupboard!
Lifestyle / social issues are less easy to control, but maybe just recognising them will help you understand.
Your kids will grow up and become more independent, although good luck with getting them to clean up anywhere in the house!
Find time for that walk; even 10 minutes a day will help, and you may even get to meet new people and have a laugh. I have a friend who “borrows” a friend’s dog to walk him every day by the river. Last week she was Facetiming me while walking Jack and I lost count of the number of times she stopped to have a chat with someone else walking that dog who had come over to say hi to Jack. You may even find one whose owner will also be happy to take all those food leftovers you’ve been eating!
