How to lose weight after menopause?

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Excess weight threatens not only your beauty, but also your health!

According to statistics, approximately 30% of women aged 50-60 are not just overweight – they are approaching the first stage of obesity. And this is doubly dangerous, since after menopause, women most often develop male-type obesity, in which most of the fat accumulates in the abdominal area. And this type of obesity significantly increases the risks of developing hypertension, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other dangerous diseases. Therefore, losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight after menopause is a matter not only of beauty, but also of health. To determine whether you need to lose weight, take a simple test: measure your waist circumference. If the result does not exceed 80 centimeters, there is nothing to worry about. But if it is more, it is definitely time for you to take action.

Where does excess weight come from

After menopause, almost all women gain five to seven kilograms of excess weight per year – this is, unfortunately, a medical fact. Where does this excess weight come from? First, with age, activity decreases, and during menopause, when most women face hot flashes, hypertension and other health problems, the energy and strength to maintain the usual level of activity becomes even less. Second, even if women continue to play sports, the effectiveness of training decreases: with age, the rate at which the body uses energy during physical exercise decreases significantly. Finally, third, with menopause, the metabolic rate decreases – not least due to a decrease in the level of the hormone estrogen. Metabolism can be “accelerated”, but for this you have to make some effort.

How to lose weight after menopause

The most important thing to do is to increase your metabolic rate through diet and proper exercise. And the good news is that it is better to exercise every day, but not for long: for example, a study by the US National Institutes of Health showed that those who did aerobics for 10 minutes every day had a waistline that was 12 cm smaller than those who neglected training.

Sports

As mentioned above, after menopause you have to train more or more intensively to achieve the same results. If you prefer aerobic exercises, do them longer (if you prefer an average pace), or do exercises more intensively (and then only 10-15 minutes a day will really be enough). Another great way out is strength training. The higher the percentage of muscle tissue in your body, the higher your metabolism. And from a certain point, your muscles work for you, helping you burn excess fat, even if you do nothing.

Diet

A slower metabolism means that most of what you eat is now converted into fat rather than energy. This means that, firstly, you should cut back on your diet a bit: postmenopausal women need between 1,300 and 2,000 calories a day, depending on how active they are. Secondly, you should significantly change your diet to include more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, and foods high in fiber and dietary fiber. At the same time, you should reduce the amount of meat (especially processed meat), refined carbohydrates, and sugar.

Hormones Control

The best thing you can do after menopause is to check your thyroid hormone balance. Often, after menopause, women experience a disruption in the levels of these hormones, which leads to weight gain, which is usually quite difficult to lose. Make an appointment with an endocrinologist and have your thyroid checked – it will definitely benefit you!