Menopause Weight Gain: How Hormone Changes Affect Your Weight

Struggling with menopause weight gain? You’re not alone. Along with hot flushes, mood swings and insomnia, weight gain is one of the most commonly experienced problems associated with the change.

But what can you do about it?

If you’ve noticed your weight creeping up, your hunger increased or obsessive cravings for foods you never used to eat, it could be the menopause that’s to blame.

But don’t despair. There is an answer. First, we need to understand what menopause weight gain is and why it happens…

What Is The Menopause?

The menopause is a stage in life when a woman’s body comes to the end of its fertile period. The ovaries stop producing eggs and the hormones change so that a pregnancy can no longer occur.

For most women, the first signs of perimenopause occur between 40-50, with the average age for menopause sitting between 45-55.

In perimenopause, your hormones start to fluctuate and your ovulation becomes irregular. This continues until full menopause occurs which is when egg production stops completely.

While some women look forward to the day that contraception and periods are no longer things they have to think about, the process of menopause can be a bumpy ride with some unpleasant side effects along the way.

Hot flushes, insomnia, skin changes, accelerated ageing and mood swings are all common complaints – as well as unusual and stubborn weight gain.

Why Does Menopause Weight Gain Happen?

High Oestrogen Levels

Although menopause is often known for its problems caused by low oestrogen, during the perimenopause, the ovaries can actually create high levels of oestrogen! This is mostly due to disrupted feedback signals from the ovaries, hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Some studies suggest that these high levels of oestrogen can contribute to menopause weight gain.

Redistributed Fat Cells

From puberty right through until perimenopause begins, women usually store most of their body fat on their hips and thighs. However, once the menopause hits and oestrogen levels drop, your body starts to distribute the fat elsewhere – mostly the belly area.

This isn’t just an aesthetic problem, but it’s a problem for your health too. You see, the fat you previously stored on your hips and thighs was subcutaneous fat. Although it can be hard to lose, it doesn’t actually increase your risk of weight-related disease much.

However, the fat stored on your belly following menopause is visceral fat – a very different beast. Visceral fat is linked to several health problems including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

High Hunger Hormones

During the menopause, studies show that many women have high levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin. This can lead to increased appetite and, in turn, increased calorie consumption.

There are also suggestions that low levels of the hormones that tell your body that you’re full can occur too, making the perfect storm when it comes to menopause weight gain.

Menopause Weight Gain – Inevitable or Avoidable?

So the menopause is pretty much unavoidable, but what about the weight gain that goes with it? Can you keep your figure as you go through the change or is a little extra padding inevitable?

The good news is yes, it is possible to keep your weight under control as you go through the change. You just might need to be proactive.

What To Do About It?

There are several ways you can combat menopause weight gain – through diet, balancing your hormones and shifting the stubborn pockets of body fat that may already exist.

Don’t Give In To The Sugar Cravings

First of all, getting your diet under control can help you immensely as you go through the menopause. Hormonal fluctuations may make you feel hungrier, mood swings may trigger you to comfort eat and low energy levels can lead you towards high sugar snacks.

But a healthy diet filled with fruits and vegetables can help you weather the storm better, keeping your menopause weight gain under control and giving your body the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.

Balance Your Hormones

Whether we’re talking about mood swings, hair loss, insomnia or weight gain, almost all menopausal problems come down to an imbalance in your hormones.

We can’t stop the menopause from happening, but we can make your ride through a little less bumpy. By rebalancing your hormones using BHRT you’ll be able to resolve many of the common menopause issues and gain control over your body once again.

But HRT has side effects, doesn’t it? For some yes, but BHRT is different.

Your hormones are incredibly sensitive – even tiny discrepancies can lead to unwanted effects. BHRT uses bioidentical hormones created from natural sources that are identical to your own.

Derived from diosgenin, ethically sourced from Mexican yams, these bioidentical hormones are structurally the same as your body’s natural hormones. This means they are usually incredibly well-tolerated and can put an end to your menopause problems without side effects.

When your hormones are balanced, the root cause of menopause weight gain can be resolved, making it much easier to maintain your weight as you go through the change.

To find out more about BHRT check out our previous blog post here…

Get A Little Help With Those Stubborn Pockets Of Body Fat

If you’ve already noticed an increase in stubborn belly fat that just won’t shift, or your weight loss seems to have plateaued, don’t despair. There is an easy solution.

3D Lipo offers you an exciting, non-surgical fat reduction treatment that can eliminate pockets of stubborn belly fat, helping you to stay in shape as you go through the menopause.

It combines the power of multiple non-surgical fat reduction treatments, including Fat Freezing, Ultrasound Cavitation and Shockwave Therapy to give you a safe and highly effective solution.

To find out more about 3D Lipo – what it is, how it works and if it could be right for you click here…

Getting Help With Your Hormones

If you’re suffering from menopause weight gain – or any other menopause problem – it’s really important that you don’t suffer in silence.

This period of your life can be tumultuous, stressful and frustrating, but we are here to help. At Elite Aesthetics, in Greenhithe in Kent, we specialise in women’s intimate health problems. Our kind, compassionate and experienced team will help you to understand what’s happening to your body and give you back control over your hormones as you go through the change.

To find out more about us click here…