Menopause and Weight Gain

 

The only thing that’s predictable about menopause is that it’s ‘unpredictable.’

 

Every woman goes through it, and some, unfortunately, suffer more than others – but we know it’s part of the ageing process. We also know it’s all about our hormones and that oestrogen affects everything. The harsh reality is that our metabolism, digestive system and pretty much everything else is slowing down, but nothing prepares women for the visible change in their external appearance.

 

The biggest struggle I see in my practice with women in menopause is excess body fat storage, particularly around the stomach, hips and thighs. Regardless of how hard many women train or drop calories, their middle-age spread keeps expanding.

 

In menopause, shedding body fat is not as simple as it was in our twenties and thirties, but the good news is that it is possible to take control once you understand how to hack the hormonal changes.

 

The symptoms of menopause are not only caused by the ageing process but by other organs, which have a huge impact on how we experience midlife change. In relation to weight loss, the liver is crucial to how we experience menopause.

 

Functioning normally, it is a filter for toxins we ingest, energy levels, creams we put on our skin and hormonal synthesis. However, when we are approaching menopause and need all the help we can get, our liver is under severe stress, which results in it being stagnant, sluggish, and filled with decades of viral and bacterial toxins. 

 

The liver is, in fact, a “storage bin” overfilled with toxic heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides, perfumes, colognes, air fresheners and residue from scented candles accumulated over the decades of our life.

 

The cumulative effect of these factors contributes at different levels to how each woman experiences a variety of menopausal symptoms, which for the past 80 years have been blamed on hormones.

 

I have always considered menopause to be puberty in reverse. When we are younger with regular periods, our ovaries are the primary source of oestrogen. In perimenopause, as our oestrogen levels fall, our body recognises this and uses the backup source of oestrogen provided by our fat cells (particularly stomach fat). So, your body is indifferent to the fact that you want to rock a sexy bikini in the summer. It just wants to keep you alive.

 

About 90% of body fat is subcutaneous, the kind that lies in a layer just beneath the skin. It’s usually harmless and may even protect against some diseases.

 

The remaining 10% of fat is called visceral or intra-abdominal fat, and it lies out of reach, beneath the muscular abdominal wall. Visceral fat wraps around your abdominal organs deep inside your body. You can’t always feel or see it. You may have a flat tummy and still have visceral fat. Increased levels of this type of fat put you at more risk of significant medical issues if not addressed.

 

The accumulation of visceral fat in women is more problematic as it is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk, type II diabetes, high cholesterol, certain cancers and strokes.

 

Waist circumference is positively correlated with visceral adipose tissues that are more metabolically active than subcutaneous fat.

 

The cut-off points for high-risk metabolic complications is 102cm in men and 88cm in women.

 

In early perimenopause, one of the first symptoms of weight gain occurs because of oestrogen dominance. The ovaries are the primary source of oestrogen, but both fat cells and the adrenal glands can produce oestrogen as well. 

 

Women are already predisposed to store fat in their belly, thighs, hips and buttocks, which the body can use as an excellent source of oestrogen production. When a woman’s body is oestrogen-dominant due to the lack of ovulation and progesterone in the blood, it creates the perfect storm for weight gain.

 

This occurs when the body reacts by signalling the fat cells to produce more oestrogen, causing more weight gain. As the number of fat cells increases, they make more oestrogen, creating a vicious circle of body fat gain and increased oestrogen levels. This circle of events become more noticeable physically as the constant levels of oestrogen dominance continue. 

 

During the transition from late perimenopause to menopause, the ovaries produce less oestrogen until they stop production entirely and periods stop for good.

The menopausal body does what it thinks is best for us and packs on more fat to keep producing oestrogen and maintain its balance in the blood. At all times, our body’s primary goal is to keep us alive, healthy and safe.

 

The dreaded middle-age spread occurs as the body starts to pack on more fat cells to get more oestrogen to the abdominal fat stores.

 

Post-menopause, the ovaries’ job is done. There is no more ovulation or periods, and the sex hormones progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone are now finished.

 

Menopause is a natural, normal and needed change in a woman’s life.

 

To manage menopausal weight gain, we need to understand both the hormonal changes and how these affect the metabolism of food and calories. 

 

In our younger years, everything works efficiently and at full speed. As we get older, we don’t need as much fuel to function. As our sex hormones decrease with age, our metabolism changes accordingly, which means less demand for calories. If we continue to eat what we have always eaten, the body will store everything as fat.

 

Cortisol is integral to weight gain. It is your body’s primary stress hormone and is produced by your adrenal glands. It reacts to signals from your brain to control mood, motivation and stress. In times of stress, the adrenal glands secrete excessive cortisol, which can block weight loss in menopause. 

 

Elevated levels of cortisol can cause cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods. Increased levels of cortisol can also push the body into starvation mode, causing increased caloric glucagon storage in the already expanding fat cells.

 

There are numerous ways to help reduce cortisol levels and combat potential weight gain. The most effective methods include weight resistance exercise, mindful eating, sufficient sleep, and meditation.

 

Insulin resistance can occur with increased visceral abdominal fat. This, in turn, causes more storage of visceral fat cells in the abdominal cavity, continuing the weight gain storm of increased cortisol production, and continued elevated levels of insulin resistance resulting in more abdominal fat gain.

 

When we eat, our bodies break food into energy, AKA calories. These are absorbed into the small intestine and the bloodstream. Think of insulin as a storage hormone that circulates the blood, picking up calories and sugar and storing them wherever they can.

 

Insulin doesn’t want to store sugar in your fat cells as they don’t regenerate. 

 

It wants to feed your muscles. Insulin resistance occurs when muscles, heart and hepatic cells don’t respond well to insulin and resist your body’s attempts to receive energy.

 

During digestion, your pancreas creates pancreatic enzymes to break down sugars, fats and starches.

The reality is your menopausal body diverts food energy into fat stores on a cellular level.

Menopause causes our bodies to become insulin resistant because they want even more fat cells to make more oestrogen.

 

There are five simple principles of eating to achieve results. These principles will enable you to decrease insulin resistance, boost your metabolism and shed your menopause weight.