Losing Weight After Menopause: Quick Tips for Women

February 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

weight management after menopauseLosing weight is no easy task and this is especially true after menopause. The body goes through changes and your weight is one of these. However, you can lose weight after menopause once you know why you are gaining. It will not be as easy as it was in your 20s, but it is possible. In fact, many women achieve their highest level of fitness after going through the change.

Why You Gain Weight

Gaining weight after menopause is actually mostly related to your lifestyle and certain genetic factors. Now, if you do gain weight this is going to show most around your midsection due to hormonal changes. Your thighs and hips will not be nearly as affected as they were in your younger years.

Once a woman goes through menopause, she tends to reduce her exercise and activity level. Then, since you are getting older your muscles will start to diminish naturally. We know that muscle burns more calories than fat and it also gives you that nice toned look. If you are not working to replace the diminishing muscle, your body will begin to be taken over by the fat and you will not burn nearly as many calories. This, of course, can lead to weight gain.

In terms of genetics, look at the women in your family. If your grandmother, mother and older sister all seemed to gain weight after menopause, then your chances of gaining weight are increased.

Why Should I Work to Lose Weight After Menopause?

There are a number of reasons why you do not want to carry around extra weight after going through the change. Having extra weight, especially around your abdomen, increases your risk of Type 2 diabetes. Things like high cholesterol and high blood pressure can also occur, increasing your risk of stroke and heart attack. Other risks include breast and colon-rectal cancer. These are already more prevalent after menopause, but extra weight increases your risk even more.

How Do I Lose Weight After Menopause?

Contrary to the media, there are no magic pills or methods to help you get into shape. You will have to put the work in. Your first priority should be to get a full health physical from your doctor. You want to know what your overall health status is and make sure that exercise is safe for you. Once you get the go-ahead from your doctor, it is time to start moving more. Just walking 30 minutes a day, most days of the week can have a major impact on your health and weight. You also need to strength train. Remember that your muscles are diminishing naturally so you need to get them back and strength training is the only way to do this. Ideally, you will strength train every other day because your muscles do need a rest day in between workouts.

Next, is your diet. You want to eat as healthy as possible. This does not mean that you can never have a piece of birthday cake again, it just means that you cannot have cake every night. You want the majority of your diet to be lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Also, do not forget about water because dehydration is more common as you get older.

You may want to get together with some of your same-age friends and get a walking group together. This will help you to stay on track. You can also strength train together and exchange healthy recipes. Those that work out with a buddy tend to stick to their plan more than those who go it alone.

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Blood Test May Be Able to Predict the Onset of Menopause

September 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

testing your blood for menopause timingIf a blood test could predict when you would begin experiencing menopause would you want to know? Based on how quickly the levels of certain hormones change in a woman’s blood, a new study suggests that doctors may be able to predict, as early as her late 30′s, at what age a woman will begin to experience menopause .

A blood test option for predicting menopause is exciting because as of now the only way for doctors to predict (take an educated guess) when a woman will begin menopause is based on her age. According to the National Institues of Health, the average age for women experiencing this change is 51. Although, it is not uncommon for women in their 40′s to experience the hormonal changes associated with menopause.

Researchers conducting this study found that combining a woman’s age, hormone levels and the extent of those hormonal level changes provided the most accurate indicator of the age at which she’d begin menopause.

Why Would Women Want to Be Able to Predict Menopause?

There is no cure for menopause. Menopause is not a disease, but a natural transition of a woman’s hormone production that ends her reproductive years. Predicting the onset of menopause would not erase the onset of menopause, but it could help women explore more options to make menopausal symptoms less imposing like Amberen, an all natural menopause supplement that menopausal women are raving about.

Frequent complaints from menopausal women include:

  • Night sweats
  • Hot flashes
  • Lowered libido
  • Intense mood swings
  • Weight gain
  • Skin changes

For younger women who are experiencing menopause, there would be more options available to delay the onset of menopause by introducing synthethic hormones, commonly referred to as hormone replacement therapy. Following a study from the Women’s Health Initiative, a backlash occurred renouncing the safety of sythetic hormones. Recently, the medical community has begun to relax their attitudes about HRT, especially for women under the age of 50.

HRT shouldn’t be used longer than 5 years and never in women over the age of 50. Therefore, predicting early menopause in women could allow more time delaying menopausal symptoms.

Not An Exact Science

Predicting a woman’s exact age of the hormonal changes that begin menopause, is not an exact science. There are other conditions that can mimic menopause and create hormonal abnormalities which may be detected in a blood test. The best way to predict menopause is to be aware of your body, note changes both small and large. Ask your female relatives, especially your mother, grandmother, sister, when they started to notice menopausal symptoms. A greater awareness of our bodies and knowledge of our familial menopause traits are natural indicators of when you will begin menopause, too.

Would you be interested in a blood test to predict menopause? How would this help you?

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Menopause And Irritability – Are They Related?

March 28, 2011 by

A lot of studies revolve around the question: are menopause and irritability related? Women who experience menopause tend to suffer from an imbalance in their hormones and with so much information available on the World Wide Web today, it can be quite hard to find proper answers. Plus, menopausal women are already suffering from vaginal dryness, mood swings and reduced libido – do they really have to become irritable, too?

Regardless of what is making you irritable during this stage, though, it can damage your career and relationships, as well as yourself. What is irritability, exactly, though? By definition, irritability refers to a state of intense sensitivity when it comes to various types of stimulation. When someone is irritable, he or she usually gets very anxious and stressed, so he or she angers easily, too. During menopause, things get even worse.

What Causes Menopause Irritability

What causes irritability? Beta-endorphins and serotonin can make you happy and increase your estrogen levels, so it is safe to say that estrogen directly affects your positive moods. Since the estrogen levels of women who experience menopause are dropping, they usually experience irritability and mood swings. Plus, physical changes can bring about reduced libido, vaginal dryness and hot flashes to make these women even more irritable.

Other causes for irritability include a lack of sleep. If you have trouble sleeping for six hours straight, it is only natural that you feel irritated all the time. Well, women who experience menopause usually sweat each night, too, which disrupts sleep and, in turn, causes irritability.

Weight gain is another side effect that comes with menopause. A once-sexy body can thus now be covered under various fat layers and this sudden change in one’s looks can make women irritable, too.

If your irritability lasts for more than seven days and is starting to affect your everyday life in a bad way, it would be smart to get some medical help. Conversely, you can treat your irritability naturally with natural supplements on the market today. Amberen is fast becoming an all-natural product women across the country are trying and having very good results in helping fight their menopause symptoms.

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