Avoid Weight Gain After Menopause - 10 Top Tips

Go all out to avoid weight gain after menopause. Even if you've put on a few pounds already, it's not too late to stop the bulge from burgeoning!

Prevention is always a darned sight easier than cure. Once you hit menopause, it really is time for a rethink. Unless you're one of the minority of lucky midlife women who can carry on eating the way they did at 20 without gaining an ounce - and they do exist - then it's time to take a step back and review the way you eat, exercise, and live.

Put some simple strategies in place now, and you'll stop the onward march of that flab that's just dying to set up home around your waistline.

We'll have none of that! Try these 10, very simple tips. They sound small, but together they are mighty enough to let you avoid weight gain with menopause.

How Not To Gain Weight After Menopause - 10 Top Tips

• 1 Don't think "diet" - think "healthy eating" Avoid "slimming diets" like the plague. This is the time to make a gradual switch to a menopause diet based on healthier eating habits that will last for the rest of your life.
• 2 Become more active It's a mindset thing. If the idea of "exercise" gives your the heeby-jeebies, or seems like too much of a pressure, start by gently adding more activity into your day. Take the stairs, not the lift. Stick the headphones on and let music lift your spirits on the walk to the next bus stop. Pop down to the shop - on foot. Go out for a stroll after dinner. Activity begets activity, because it feels so good to stretch and use your body more. In time, you could well graduate to doing more "real" exercise - and enjoying it! It's the very best thing you can do, to help avoid weight gain with menopause.
• 3 Make water your thirst-quencher of choice There's no need to glug gallons of the stuff every day, but do take note of when you feel thirsty, and choose water above cola, coffee, fruit juice, alcohol...it's always the best. if you have an alcoholic drink at mealtimes, drink water as well, either alongside, or mixed with wine to make a spritzer (use soda or carbonated water). Get the water habit.
• 4 Always eat sitting down This one's for you if you frequently cook for a family, and know that you tend to nibble. A spoonful of sauce here, a taste of roast chicken skin there, a handful of grated cheese, the scrapings from the mashed potato pan...oh, how it all adds up. Grazing like this can also be a sign of stress eating. Before you know it, you've eaten the equivalent of half a meal and sabotaged your desire to avoid that menopausal weight gain. Train yourself to associate food with a table, a plate, cutlery. And try delegating some of the cooking as well!
• 5 Watch your food serving sizes You may pile on the pasta if you're feeding teenagers, or a partner who's out breaking rocks all day. And it can become second nature to serve identical amounts to everyone. But do you need that heaped plate? Give yourself more veggies, less carbs, smaller portions generally. Soon, you'll do it without even thinking about it, and won't want gargantuan helpings any more - promise!
• 6 Halve the amount of fat you use Yes, or leave it out altogether. A slice of bread calls out for butter - doesn't it? Well, no, if you're going to use it for a sandwich that has a moist filling. Experiment with using less, or sometimes no, fat in daily food preparation. Use oil sprays to give a fine film of fat, rather than a puddle, for cooking. Fat is massively high in calories, and although you do need some in your diet, you can make really useful calorie cuts without sacrificing eating enjoyment, purely by slimming down the amount of fat you use.
• 7 Eat more veg That's it, period. Invest in a veggie cook book, and make at least two non-meat meals a week. Serve two veg (not including potatoes) with every meal, and in large portions. Add salad to sandwiches, use veg to make simple snacks like carrot sticks. Grow a few of your own in pots, and stock up every time you shop. Oh - and don't just think about this one. You do have to actually do it!
• 8 Avoid mindless grazing Try not to eat when you're distracted by television, or gobble food down on the hoof when you're rushing to be somewhere else. Think about your food as you munch it. You'll feel satisfied faster, eat less - and enjoy it more! Get into the habit of having healthy snacks.
• 9 Relax, chill out, find things you love to do. What's that got to do with your desire to avoid weight gain after menopause? Everything. If you are running around in a state of chronic stress, your fat-attracting hormones are in overdrive. Cortisol and stress are a devastating combination. You'll benefit every single aspect of your health and your girth, if you find ways to relieve stress, allocate more time to fun, and to valuable rest.
• 10 Share the journey Don't keep your bid to avoid weight gain in menopause a secret. It's a great and noble enterprise, and you deserve support! Get together with like-minded friends, and tell your family what you're up to. Well-meant words of encouragement can make all the difference.

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