Menopause weight gain is perhaps one of the most common
complaints women will struggle with as they enter the stages of
perimenopause and menopause.
Full blown menopause typically happens at age 50, however in perimenopause (between the ages of 35 and throughout the 40s) menopause weight gain is already well in progress. As you begin to leave the reproductive years behind you, your hormones begin to fluctuate and levels of progesterone and estrogen begin to decline. Your body becomes somewhat of a hoarder as it begins to manufacture and store hormones in order to maintain balance.
Can you guess where estrogen is stored? If you guessed fat, you'd be absolutely right. What actually happens within the workings of the endocrine system is a little more detailed than what I've just explained, however I think you get the picture here. When your body is out of balance, the result is menopause weight gain and more specifically, menopause belly fat.
Beating menopause weight gain isn't about cutting out that Friday night cheesecake with the girls. It requires a lifestyle change (and not the latest fad diet) in order to get and keep your body in balance.
Here's 4 belly fat loss tips that have been proven to be very effective in helping you beat menopause weight gain.
1. Begin Some Form of Daily Exercise.
If you haven't been active since your school days, now is the time to begin. Choose an activity that you enjoy doing, otherwise no amount of self talk will help to keep you motivated much less maintain consistency with your exercise plan.
It can be as simple as a brisk walk each day or putting on your favorite music CD and dancing to it for 30 minutes. The idea is to increase your heart rate, get your heart pumping, increase your blood flow and expand your lungs. How do you know when you're working hard enough? An easy way to tell is if you find it somewhat difficult to carry on a conversation, but you're NOT out of breath or gasping for air.
TIP: It takes about 15 minutes of activity before your body begins burning fat.
2. Add Some Resistance Training To Your Exercise Plan.
You begin to lose lean muscle mass to the tune of about one half pound of muscle per year. As a result, metabolism naturally begins to slow down as well. The more lean muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be, the more calories you'll burn daily and the more effectively you'll keep menopause weight gain at bay. It takes far more calories to maintain metabolically active lean muscle than to maintain fat on your body.
TIP: If you really want to turbo charge belly fat loss, do 15 to 20 minutes of resistance training BEFORE you take that brisk walk. This will increase your fat burning tenfold!
Be sure to consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program especially if you have any medical conditions or if you haven't exercised regularly in the past.
3. Decrease The Amount Of Calories You Take In.
As metabolism naturally begins to slow down, decrease the amount of calories you eat daily, especially if you're not very active.
TIP: By reducing your calorie intake by 200-250 calories a day, and taking a 45 minute brisk walk each evening, you can lose approximately 1-2 pounds in a week.
4. As Women, We Tend To Put Ourselves Last On The List.
Sound familiar? Because life can be so hectic, it's important to carve out some down time to de-stress every day. High levels of stress releases adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol is the stress hormone that's also responsible for increasing menopause belly fat storage.
TIP: Techniques like Self hypnosis, Meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong are effective ways to de-stress, center yourself and recharge your body in the process.
Ideally you want to strike a healthy balance between work and play...eating healthy most days while still enjoying your Friday cheesecake with the girls. Yes, our bodies naturally change with time. That's a given.
Full blown menopause typically happens at age 50, however in perimenopause (between the ages of 35 and throughout the 40s) menopause weight gain is already well in progress. As you begin to leave the reproductive years behind you, your hormones begin to fluctuate and levels of progesterone and estrogen begin to decline. Your body becomes somewhat of a hoarder as it begins to manufacture and store hormones in order to maintain balance.
Can you guess where estrogen is stored? If you guessed fat, you'd be absolutely right. What actually happens within the workings of the endocrine system is a little more detailed than what I've just explained, however I think you get the picture here. When your body is out of balance, the result is menopause weight gain and more specifically, menopause belly fat.
Beating menopause weight gain isn't about cutting out that Friday night cheesecake with the girls. It requires a lifestyle change (and not the latest fad diet) in order to get and keep your body in balance.
Here's 4 belly fat loss tips that have been proven to be very effective in helping you beat menopause weight gain.
1. Begin Some Form of Daily Exercise.
If you haven't been active since your school days, now is the time to begin. Choose an activity that you enjoy doing, otherwise no amount of self talk will help to keep you motivated much less maintain consistency with your exercise plan.
It can be as simple as a brisk walk each day or putting on your favorite music CD and dancing to it for 30 minutes. The idea is to increase your heart rate, get your heart pumping, increase your blood flow and expand your lungs. How do you know when you're working hard enough? An easy way to tell is if you find it somewhat difficult to carry on a conversation, but you're NOT out of breath or gasping for air.
TIP: It takes about 15 minutes of activity before your body begins burning fat.
2. Add Some Resistance Training To Your Exercise Plan.
You begin to lose lean muscle mass to the tune of about one half pound of muscle per year. As a result, metabolism naturally begins to slow down as well. The more lean muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be, the more calories you'll burn daily and the more effectively you'll keep menopause weight gain at bay. It takes far more calories to maintain metabolically active lean muscle than to maintain fat on your body.
TIP: If you really want to turbo charge belly fat loss, do 15 to 20 minutes of resistance training BEFORE you take that brisk walk. This will increase your fat burning tenfold!
Be sure to consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program especially if you have any medical conditions or if you haven't exercised regularly in the past.
3. Decrease The Amount Of Calories You Take In.
As metabolism naturally begins to slow down, decrease the amount of calories you eat daily, especially if you're not very active.
TIP: By reducing your calorie intake by 200-250 calories a day, and taking a 45 minute brisk walk each evening, you can lose approximately 1-2 pounds in a week.
4. As Women, We Tend To Put Ourselves Last On The List.
Sound familiar? Because life can be so hectic, it's important to carve out some down time to de-stress every day. High levels of stress releases adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol is the stress hormone that's also responsible for increasing menopause belly fat storage.
TIP: Techniques like Self hypnosis, Meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong are effective ways to de-stress, center yourself and recharge your body in the process.
Ideally you want to strike a healthy balance between work and play...eating healthy most days while still enjoying your Friday cheesecake with the girls. Yes, our bodies naturally change with time. That's a given.
By creating balance in your life, you can keep menopause weight
gain [http://www.bellyfatblues.com/menopause-and-weight-gain.html] at
bay and yes, you CAN even have your cheesecake and eat it too!
[http://www.BellyFatBlues.com] - Weight Loss for Women Over 40
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