September 4, 2018
When women enter menopause they can expect insomnia, irritability, fatigue, and hot flashes. As if this wasn’t already enough, weight gain is also a common side effect when going through menopause. Officially, menopause begins when a woman hasn’t had a menstrual cycle for 12 months, but the associated weight gain can start earlier.
No woman should be worried with her appearance, especially when experiencing menopause, but there are health concerns with significant weight gain. Here are a few tips that will help drop the troublesome pounds during menopause.
Finding the Right Diet
Weight loss is achieved through calorie deficiency, and during menopause, the amount of calories a woman burns while resting declines. Low calorie diets can be helpful to lose weight in the short term, but research shows that restricting calories during menopause can cause health issues like the loss of muscle mass and a more pronounced decline in metabolism.
The safest long-term solution for a healthy diet during menopause is to watch those portions. Instead of trying to watch calories, woman could receive more benefits by practicing dietary restraint and eating in moderation. This option will help keep weight down while avoiding adverse effects.
Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle
Many women focus solely on losing weight during menopause, but the chief concern should be maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Weight loss is usually a positive side effect that occurs when a healthy lifestyle is achieved and maintained, but even if the weight loss is slow to come, the healthy practices should be kept up.
Woman who pay close attention to their body’s needs will be rewarded with health benefits that will last for years. Menopause is a massive shift in body function, and accounting for it correctly will involve long-term thinking, as opposed to a quick fix.
Long-Term Solution
Exercise, diet, and emotional fulfillment are all important aspects of a healthy lifestyle, and balancing them all will lead to very real health benefits. Creating a healthy lifestyle that is realistic and sustainable can help preserve a woman’s metabolic rate and reduce the amount of muscle loss that occurs with advanced age.
Many woman experiencing menopause worry about straining their joints, and they might feel that more strenuous forms of exercise could damage their body in the coming years. There are other forms of exercise, such as water aerobics, that are very health for the body but do not put the same strain on it.
Consult a Professional
Finding the right fit of diet and exercise can be a big job, but women don’t have to go it alone. There are a plethora of books and resources that are available on the subject of health and menopause, and looking into them can offer a fresh perspective.
Consulting a health professional may yield helpful results as well. There are many health professionals, both traditional and many that are more esoteric, that women can utilize to find a plan of action that will safeguard their long-term health.
Remembering that weight loss takes time and careful effort during menopause is helpful to keep from getting discouraged. A solid health plan can make all the difference in the long run.