Want to start a fight?
Tell a menopausal woman that her metabolism hasn’t changed.
Fact is, the 2021 Herman Pontzer study showed that metabolism doesn’t change until age 60.
Pontzer, Herman, et al. “Daily energy expenditure through the human life course.” Science 373.6556 (2021): 808-812.
But, it’s undeniable that many women experience weight gain & increased belly fat.
With decreased estrogen fat distribution tends to land at the waistline. So woman may not be gaining more fat, but it accumulates more noticeably around the belly, as well, OTHER lifestyle factors contribute to weight gain.
Sarcopenia (muscle wasting) is also real, which means a change of body composition and loss of metabolically active muscle tone. Insulin resistance and sleep disturbances can also result in weight gain.
BUT, the good news is that many of these factors can be controlled so that midlife weight gain doesn’t necessarily have to be your fate.
Small lifestyle changes can make ALL the difference.
For one, resistance training helps offset the loss of muscle to create a more favorable body composition – this helps maintain function, calorie burning ability and a more pleasing aesthetic.
Secondly, you can make small tweaks in nutrition, like 50 year old Karen in the video, to drop excess weight. She added more protein and fiber to increase her satiety and increase her insulin sensitivity,
Karen also addressed her busy schedule to prioritize sleep and stress.
Don’t just accept weight gain as a ‘natural’ cause of aging.
If you’d like to get on top of your increasing waist, let me help.
The necessary step is understanding HOW to eat in menopause.
In my Nutrition Academy I’ll teach you exactly that, AND make a personalized plan for you: https://shawnak.securechkout.com/nutrition-academy
From there, the secret sauce (and what worked for Karen and all my other clients) is ACCOUNTABILITY, so you consistently do what you need to in order to reach and maintain your weight loss goal.
If you’d like to discuss your options for support, let’s talk.