What Are Your Options For Menopause Weight Gain

Menopause, the period when we no longer have our period, can start as early as the mid thirties and can last for 10 to 15 years. During that period, women suffer from numerous symptoms such as menopause weight gain, loss of libido, depression, anxiety, irritability, hot flashes and night sweat.

As I mentioned before menopause can come as early as 35 years old byt the average age is around 50 years old.

Starting in the thirties, a woman's metabolism starts to slow down and we lose muscle mass making it easier for us to accumulate fat. A decrease in the hormone estrogen makes us have more fat around the belly.

So the main cause of weight gain during the period right before menopause (called perimenopause) is due to fluctuations in our hormones. Some hormones regulate our appetite, metabolism and how we store fat. The culprits are estrogen, progesterone and insulin among other hormones.

So what are your options at this stage in your life?

If your symptoms are mild, you can try to balance your hormones by changing your diet and your lifestyle. You should avoid foods that are high in simple carbohydrates such as anything made with white flour. You should include in your diet more lean protein, whole grains, and complex carbohydrate such as fresh vegetables and fresh fruits.

Since our metabolism slows down at this period, it is recommended that we engage in exercises every day for at least 30 minutes to maintain our weight and one hour in order to lose weight. Strength exercises are very important to build muscle mass. Muscles help speed up our metabolism.

If your symptoms are very bad, you should consult with a doctor who is knowledgeable about bioidentical hormones. Bioidentical hormones are natural and plant-based as opposed to synthetic hormones which are known to increase the risk of breast cancer.

The benefits of bioidentical hormones are numerous. They can protect you against breast cancer and will benefit your bones (helping you fight bone loss), brain and mood (helping you fight irritability, depression, mood swings and brain fogginess).

In addition, you will have improved energy and a as well as protection against endometrial cancer and fibrocystic breasts.

So as you can see, depending on the severity of your symptoms, you can treat yourself naturally through changing your diet. Remember that food is medicine and medicine is food. So it's very important that you pay attention to your diet to control menopause weight gain naturally.

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