Post Menopause - Dealing With Weight Gain

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Reaching post menopause is quite a milestone. It means you've arrived at the other side of menopause - hurray, it's finished!

And you're not 'old', either. With the average age of menopause at 51, you can be post menopausal from your early fifties or even earlier.

Now, it's time to take stock - and that includes confronting any weight gain that's gone on over the last few years.

You may read about post menopause weight gain, but actually the weight increase slows down and stabilises after the menopause, as your hormone levels subside and your body adapts to an oestrogen-free existence. Most of the extra poundage associated with midlife goes on in the earlier stage of perimenopause.

Adapting to life post menopause

The good news about this stage of life is that things calm down. As your hormones settle down, you can look forward to feeling more energetic and less exhausted.

Your memory may well improve, your mood swings diminish and you'll be able to think more clearly and enjoy a better night's sleep.

If you've gone through perimenopause unable to halt the advancing spare tyre around your waistline, you should find that the scales are more stable now.

Your fat cells aren't so desperate to stay plumped up come what may, and those on your thighs, arms behind, waist and the cheeks of your face even start to shrink back a little.

Even so, the battle of the bulge isn't over yet. Your metabolism is still slowing, meaning you need fewer calories than before. You also have a higher risk of hyperthyroidism which also has an impact on your metabolic rate.

Weight loss after menopause

And what if you've reached the further shore of the menopause with a bulky figure that lacks muscle? Must you resign yourself to looking like a sack of potatoes from now on in?

Fortunately not. The menopausal weight gain answers are the same for you as they are for women who are still going through the transition - and they will work just as effectively:

• Cut back on the calories you consume, eat a healthy diet and eat less - much less - of sugar-laden, high-fat junk foods.
• Add exercise to lose weight into your daily routine, and be sure to include strength training exercises to the mix, to build up muscle.
• Do your best to de-stress, and take steps to make your life calmer.

And that's it! Enjoy your more rounded, midlife shape. Keep your body healthy, exercised and toned, and accept that this is not the time to fight to be skinny.

Accept that it's natural to carry a little more weight in the world, and look forward to going happily through your post menopause.

Go to Beat Menopause Weight Gain Home Page. Or go back to the top of Post Menopause.