Tips to tackle Weight Gain after Menopause

It is common knowledge that people gain weight as they age. Weight gain after puberty, pregnancy, and menopause for women and weight gain for aging men is a common phenomenon. Changes caused by hormones, decreased muscle mass, and fewer exercises are all contributing factors to eventual weight gain.

Women as they age, especially after menopause, are more likely to have fat deposited in their abdominal region. These fatty deposits in the abdominal region are known as metabolically active or visceral fat. Visceral fat is quite dangerous and can increase your risk of getting hypertension, high blood sugar, and abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Although the weight gain after menopause is inevitable, you can reverse its course by making some diet and lifestyle changes. Here are a few tips that can help you tackle weight gain after menopause.

4 Tips to tackle weight gain after menopause

Build Muscle Mass

With the increase in age, the muscle mass of people reduces due to inactivity and sedentary lifestyle. And since muscles burn more calories to sustain energy, a decrease in muscle mass means lesser calories are burned throughout the day. Although exercise can reduce weight gain, it can also improve a person’s mood, and promote a healthy weight. Resistance training regimes with weights or bands are proven effective in preserving and increasing lean muscle mass. Aerobic exercises are also a great alternative for women in menopause. They reduce belly fat while preserving existing muscle mass.

Start Tracking your Body Weight

Keeping a track of your weight is an important practice to stay on top of your slow weight gain. Tracking your weight also helps in managing and rectifying diet and exercises. It is recommended to weigh oneself at least once a week. Make sure to wear minimal or light clothing and zero your scale before weighing in.

Introduce Healthy Changes to your Diet

Eating less is not an ideal option for weight loss. Effective weight loss should be done by reducing calories without skimping on nutrition. It is always important to choose what you are eating and drinking. Consume more fruits, whole grains and vegetables rather than processed food. Consume foods that are rich in fiber. Legumes, nuts, chicken, egg, and fish are all excellent options for healthy proteins. Consume lesser foods with added sugars as they account for a large number of calories in our diet. Alcohols consumption should also be limited as they add more calories to your diet and increase the risk of gaining weight.

Get Sun Light Exposure

Adequate exposure to sunlight is one factor that can help you manage your body weight. Sunlight helps in getting more vitamin-D. Deficiency of vitamin-D is associated with depression, bone weakness, and metabolic syndrome. So vitamin-D not only enhances the mood to keep ourselves active, but they also help in fixing and binding calcium in our bones which directly helps in managing our body weight.