Lose Weight During Menopause

These are words that many think don't belong in the same sentence! Yet, there are things you can do to adjust your lifestyle and not only minimize weight gain, but foster weight loss.

The average woman can gain between 10 and 15 pounds during the perimenopause years of her life, just by being alive and functioning, so start with that challenge and add to it the goal of losing weight during menopause! It seems a little overwhelming to me at times, as a person who has not faced weight issues until this point in my life.

So, how to lose weight during menopause? As you might have guessed, there are no magic wands to 'swoosh' away those nasty little pounds that menopause weight gain has produced, particularly the annoying ring of belly fat, my personal bugger.

But, don't despair. Here are some basic, common sense actions that you can take right now, to lose weight during menopause:

• Eat the right foods. Think of it this way. Fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, protein, good carbohydrates, including resistant carbs.
• Pay attention to the portion sizes. It was explained to me that our stomach is approximately the size of our fist. That's it. It doesn't take a huge amount of food to fill it up.
• How do you prepare your food? Grilling, steaming, pan frying in a small amount of olive oil...these are all good options.
• Eliminate or minimize your consumption of the 'bad' foods. Think about what you typically consume in a day. How much of the food you eat is processed? (you know..you bought it in a box or bag) What is the fat content? What is the sodium content? How about sugar? (one of my personal favorites!)
• Sodium can wreak havoc on our systems when we consume too much, and it's been a very eye-opening experience for me to pay attention to the sodium content of everything I eat. Read labels, do some research and keep track for a few days. You might be very surprised at how much salt you are putting into your system.
• If you are going to consume these types of foods and additives, discipline yourself and keep the portions small, both in size and percentage of your overall food intake for the day.
• Exercise, exercise, exercise - aerobic and weight training. This one was a stumper for me, because I have been dedicated to an exercise regimen for years. Why has my body (and the scale) not responded as it has in the past?
• As we get older and our metabolism slows, we need to increase our physical activity just to maintain our weight, and even more so to lose weight during menopause.
• My previous 30 minutes a day of brisk walking and lifting weights a couple of times a week just doesn't cut it anymore. I need to increase the frequency and the intensity of my workouts if I want to lose weight.
• A series of aerobic bursts built into our plan as we exercise is critical to getting our body's attention when working out. Our muscles can become used to certain routines, so we need to change things up to make them respond.
• Keep it simple and go to the gym, go for a walk, a swim, a jog...just do something! There are many, many great workouts available online, in stores and offered at the gym to help you along every step of the way.
• Drink lots of water. It helps to flush out your system and keep everything moving through it in a healthy way.

The bottom line? There is no magic answer to losing weight during menopause. But, it can be done! Learn all you can about the changes in your body and how you can maintain a healthy lifestyle during this time.