How to lose weight during the menopause

When menstruation ends due to age, or surgical removal of the reproductive organs, women may have specific health and nutrition problems, many of them related to the loss of estrogens’ healthy benefits.

Medical advice from QuirónSalud

Menopause is a normal physiological stage in the life of a woman, it usually takes place between the ages of 45 and 55, when the ovaries stop producing eggs. You can start with irregular menstrual cycles, and manifest with other symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, and vaginal dryness. It also affects bone, heart and brain health, particularly memory. The decrease in circulating estrogens limits the body's ability to reshape bones, resulting in a reduction of bone mass, and affects blood lipid concentrations, increasing "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and decreasing "good" cholesterol (HDL). During menopause, there is also a redistribution of body fat, ending up in the midriff. This abdominal fat, is associated with diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attack, and if all of that was not enough, weight loss is also more difficult.

All these changes affect our health, understood according to the World Health Organisation, as "a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being, and not just the absence of disease."

What can we, as women, do when we approach this new stage of our lifes? The acquisition of a healthy lifestyle that encompasses diet, absence of toxic habits and practice of regular physical exercise, will be more important than ever. That said, we provide some advice.

Health tips

Increase the consumption of pulses. The isoflavones found in these foods are the best known and studied phytoestrogens; and although there are still no clear conclusions about the effects of isoflavones on health, some studies attribute beneficial effects on plasma cholesterol levels, breast cancer and other estrogen dependent cancers, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, hot flashes reduction and bone mass recovery in menopause.

Do not abuse alcohol. Regular intake of alcoholic beverages, favours the accumulation of fat in the liver, increasing the abdominal perimeter, and being able to cause irreversible damage to liver cells. If it is also accompanied by sugary drinks, you’ll most definitely be battling against the scales.

Avoid fast-absorbing carbohydrates. They are mainly found in cereals and refined flours, sweets, juices, jams ... and have a quick digestion and absorption; the pancreas releases a dose of the hormone called insulin proportional to the amount of glucose that enters the blood stream, and has the mission of sending this glucose body cells to supply them with energy, but the excess is stored in the form of body fat, therefore the higher the intake of this food group, the more we favour the probability of gaining weight.

Reduce fat intake and especially select the most hearthealthy. Maintain a daily and rational consumption of foods such as olive oil, and plan a weekly menu that contains more fish and nuts than meats.

Increase the consumption of food containing calcium and vitamin D. The needs of this mineral are increased in women from menopause. They are present in dairy, sesame, black molasses, nuts and pulses in general, and in a smaller dose, in cabbage, broccoli, spinach and orange.

Attend and reset your biological clocks. Many of our biological functions follow periodic rhythms, menstruation is just an example. With age, daily life circumstances, and the hormonal changes that occur during menopause, we alter the functioning of the central internal clock (in the brain), and secondary clocks are subject to the first (they are in different organs and tissues).

Avoiding caffeine and other stimulants during the evenings can help you sleep better. Caffeine is one of the factors we currently sleep for up to two hours less than fifty years ago.

With regards to suffocations, avoid hot drinks.

Combine aerobic physical exercise with strength exercise. This tandem, helps reduce overweight and diseases associated with excess abdominal fat, and improves decreased muscle mass that occurs with age and menopause, as well as the balance between lean mass-fat mass.

Consider hormone replacement therapy always under medical prescription. In these estrogen replacement treatments, administration of calcium and vitamin D supplements may be indicated.