MenopauseMenu guest blog post by Tracey Grant, RDN, CWHC.
Menopause comes with many changes, and much to our chagrin, weight gain is frequently one of them. But while it might seem mysterious, and can certainly be frustrating, it is not a helpless situation!
This weight gain happens because as our ovaries stop making estrogen, our bodies seek other ways to make up for that loss. Did you know that fat stores actually also secrete low levels of estrogen? Well, now you do! In response to the shift in hormones that comes with menopause, the body increases insulin levels, which promote a little extra fat storage to help with this transition.
Don’t worry though, all is not lost!
Here are 5 factors of menopausal weight gain that you don’t want to miss.
1. You’re less insulin sensitive; eat accordingly.
Insulin is the hormone that unlocks our cells to allow glucose from our bloodstream to get in so that it can be utilized. When we are more insulin sensitive, that means that our bodies do this process more efficiently with the dietary carbohydrates that we consume. As we lose this sensitivity, our bodies have a harder time processing carbohydrates.
Now, don’t hear me wrong: I’m not saying to go on a keto or ultra low carb diet here! However, the importance of prioritizing lower glycemic carbs that are higher in fiber increases as we age, because these are more slowly digested. This means that the body is able to use the glucose that it is taking in for energy, as opposed to storing it as fat, which is what happens when refined carbohydrates are rapidly absorbed and overwhelm our body’s needs and ability to process..
Some of my favorite complex carbs are potatoes and sweet potatoes with skins, brown rice and other whole grains, and legumes.
2. Sleep is non-negotiable.
Poor sleep has a significantly negative impact on your body’s ability to process glucose, essentially leading to the “refined carbohydrate” scenario above. In other words, our body is more apt to store away blood glucose as fat when we don’t get enough sleep instead of using it as fuel! Furthermore, insufficient sleep actually increases both our hunger level and our cravings. We’ll talk about exercise later, but if it comes down to getting enough sleep or waking up early to exercise, I recommend choosing sleep every time.
A few ways to optimize sleep include making sure that your room is completely dark and cool, minimizing stressful activities in the evening (such as checking your work email or reading the news), and above all, avoiding screens for an hour before bed.
3. Stress management is crucial.
We’ve probably all heard that stress can cause weight gain, especially around the middle. When we’re stressed, a couple of key things happen: our insulin levels rise, the impact of which we learned about in point #1. In addition, our cortisol also rises. This keeps our blood glucose slightly elevated so that we are ready to respond to danger if needed, but also gives that elevated insulin something to sequester into cells to store!
Some of my favorite stress management techniques are mindful deep breathing, stepping outside and looking around, and physically tensing and relaxing my muscle groups.
4. Don’t overlook the value of protein.
There are a few important reasons to prioritize adequate protein in your diet, especially in menopause. The first is that protein is satiating, meaning that you are likely to be satisfied with your meal for a longer period of time. Secondly, protein helps maintain muscle mass, which keeps our metabolism stronger! Third, our ability to digest and absorb protein decreases over time, so we need slightly more to get the same impact. And lastly, protein takes the most energy to break down, which is another little metabolic boost that we can take advantage of! I recommend about 30 grams per meal, which is a piece of animal protein about the size of a deck of cards (4 oz).
5. You can’t out exercise a bad diet, but movement still matters!
Weight management is 70% diet and 30% exercise, and both are crucial components. However, the kind of exercise that is best for us in menopause might be different than what has worked for us in the past! High intensity workouts might be invigorating to some, but they also push the body hard. While this does give us a metabolic boost, it also causes physiological stress. (The reality is, all exercise is stress on the body, but it is a type of stress called eustress, which actually allows us to build back stronger!) As we talked about above, managing stress is crucial. Too much high intensity exercise can actually be counterproductive in menopause for this reason. I recommend walking for 30-60 minutes most days of the week (bonus if it’s outside!), and incorporating 3 days of strength training as well.
As you can tell, weight management in menopause encompasses much more than just the calories that we consume. Personally, I think that’s great news, because the more strategies that we have, the more effective we can be in optimizing our health, wellness, and weight!
Tracey Grant, RDN, CWHC