Where’s my tummy coming from?!

Menopause or what used to be called ‘The Change’

Ugh.

To be fair, I’ve not heard it referred to as this name for a little while. I was looking up synonyms for the Menopause and words like ‘desperation’ and ‘despair’ came up !

We work with a lot of peri and postmenopausal women.

Menopausal symptoms can begin months or even years before your periods stop and can last for years after your last period.

And are much more than just having waves of being a bit hot and bothered every now and then!!

Along with all kinds of unpleasant and sometimes serious symptoms (most women start with symptoms from 40 yrs onwards) it’s very common to gain weight and this weight seems to end up round the middle, even for those who normally have been slim or pear shaped find themselves more apple shaped .

This can be deeply frustrating!!

A few reasons for this weight gain could include:

Muscle loss – muscle loss decreases from 35 yrs onwards and as muscle burns more calories your metabolism slows down as a result

Oestrogen levels dropping – its thought that as levels of Oestrogen drop, weight is distributed around the body differently, mostly gathering around the middle

Low mood and anxiety – a lot of women suffer from stress and anxiety during this time and that can lead to poor food choices or overeating.

Tiredness – This can also lead to poor food choices as well as feeling less inclined to exercise

So what can be done?!

This is where resistance training is so important

It’s less about thrashing yourself and burning as many calories as you can; it’s about building muscle and increasing metabolism over time.

It’s about protecting bones.

About slowing down the aging process.

Doing weight bearing exercise helps against muscle wastage (sarcopenia) as well as helping prevent Osteoporosis .

And once you start moving, you feel better.

You have more energy.

And when you feel better about yourself, you start to make better food and movement choices.

And just better choices all round!

#menopause#weightgain#resistancetraining#PollyTurnillfitness