Belly Fat in Menopause - Secrets of How To Lose It

During menopause, you'll find that stubborn belly fat is that much harder to get rid of. Your fat cells don't want to give up one iota of their fat stores without a fight, and that's why you need to use targetted exercise to beat them at their own game. That is the only way to lose belly fat.

When you were younger, you could probably make an impact on your waistline by exercising three times a week, for about three-quarters of an hour each time.

Once you hit the transition to menopause, those fat cells are far less happy to play ball. The hormone cortisol has a lot to answer for here, and it discourages your fat cells from relinquishing their supplies.

Exercise to lose belly fat

©Istockphoto.com/Mark Fairey

Now that you're in the midst of the change of life, you'll need to coax those fat cells to release the fat so that you can burn it up with exercise.

For the first half hour or so of any aerobic exercise program, your muscles are running on the glucose they have stored. It takes longer than it used to for them to move on to burning fat, much of which these days is stored around your midriff, creating the typical apple-shaped body of the menopausal years.

Once the fat cells do decide to let go of some their supplies, the fat still has to travel to the muscle to be burned. It all takes time, so you should aim to keep going for at least 30 minutes. Menopause expert Debra Waterhouse recommends four one-hour aerobic sessions a week as the most effective tool to help you burn belly fat in menopause.

Whatever length of session you choose, the best approach is to work up to it gradually, and of course, remember to talk to your doctor and get the go ahead before you start, especially if you have not done much exercise lately.

And don't just stop at different types of aerobic exercise, because on their own, they won't be enought to help you reduce belly fat.

Build muscle, burn fat

As well as aerobic exercise, you need to lose fat and gain muscle with strength-training exercises.

An hour a week is enough, coupled with around four hours of aerobic exercises, to help you build valuable muscle with will not only strengthen your body, but all-importantly will burn fat far more efficiently. That's why increasing the muscle in your body is a key part of your strategy for overall menopausal fitness.

Couple your exercise programs with a healthy approach to menopause diet, keep cortisol production reined in with stress-busting techniques and you'll be putting all the right tools in place to lose belly fat in menopause.

Go from Belly Fat Menopause to Weight Loss Menopause.

Go from Belly Fat Menopause to Beat Menopause Weight Gain.