Perimenopause
weight gain - causes and solutions
Why
does weight gain occur so universally for women during
menopause? It depends on the individual, but there are a few
causes that are very common. Your fat cells and your hormones
are part of a system-wide biofeedback network that
orchestrates your appetite, metabolism, heat regulation,
digestion, and detoxification. Any chronic disturbance in the
crosstalk among systems has the potential to cause weight gain
(and a host of other menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes and
food cravings).
The
causes of unexplained weight gain
Each
day we discover more about the intricate nature of hormones
and weight, but one vital link is the one between insulin,
metabolism and body fat. For years, many women followed the
conventional low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, with lots of
processed foods (pasta, breads, most snacks, beer and wine,
etc). Over time this diet can create a condition known as
insulin resistance. When you are insulin resistant your body
converts every calorie it can into fat - even if you're
dieting. The result is that while you are gaining weight, your
cells are actually starving!
A
second basic link lies between stress and body fat. Stress
hormones, like cortisol, block weight loss. This is sometimes
called the "famine effect": despite adequate food, the body
interprets prolonged stress as a famine, and once again goes
into hoarding mode - which it does very
effectively.
Stressors
can be emotional, physical, or even diet-related. Bingeing,
yo-yo dieting, unaddressed food sensitivities, and severe
calorie restriction are all forms of stress. Most of us are
under tremendous amounts of stress - often more than we
realize - and much of it is prolonged and unremitting, which
can lead to chronic inflammation and a metabolic disorder
called adrenal fatigue.
These
mechanisms all work together - and many of us combine a
high-stress life with a low-fat, high-carb diet. This creates
such a powerful hormonal imbalance that weight gain is almost
inevitable. What's more, high-carb diets cause
neurotransmitter imbalances that lead to food cravings.
Because your body can't readily maintain optimal blood sugar
and serotonin levels, you are compelled to have snacks and
caffeine to make yourself feel better. But they only
exacerbate both insulin resistance and adrenal exhaustion
while adding body fat. This is a vicious cycle.
For
women in perimenopause, another weight gain issue is widely
fluctuating estrogen levels, and for menopausal women,
diminished levels of estrogen. As the estrogen production of
your ovaries falls, your body turns to secondary production
sites, including body fat, skin, and other organs. If your
body is struggling to maintain its hormonal balance, body fat
becomes more valuable. Often your body is balancing estrogen
loss with maintaining bone mass, for which it needs additional
fat cells. Of course, if you are stressed and on a low-fat
diet, your body will struggle to keep all these balls in the
air - and refuse to let go of extra body fat.
If
you believe you may have a hormone imbalance contact Lighten
The Load for your free consultation.
Article
by:
Marcy
Holmes, NP, Certified Menopause Clinician
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