Menopause And Weight Gain

Is There A Hormone Connection?

Menopause and weight gain, what is the hormone connection and is there other things that may be contributing to your weight gain? There are 4 reproductive hormones that change as you grow older and your body does react to those changes, but there are also other things that can contribute to weight gain in menopause. Weight gain generally shifts from the lower body to the abdomen, even collecting visceral fat, which is actually internal fat that surrounds internal organ. Too much of that puts you at a higher risk for life threatening illness. First let's look at the hormone changes and why they can contribute to menopause and weight gain.

Estrogen level decreases. Your ovaries decrease production of estrogen as you get older, usually 45-55 years of age. Your body says "where has all estrogen gone?" And it starts looking for ways to increase estrogen. Fat stores release estrogen, so the body tries to convert calories to more fat, so the fat will produce more estrogen. Studies show that women in menopause can actually have up to a 67% increase in appetite. The body is smart. It has amazing survival instincts. However, it doesn't do much for our waistline in this circumstance and we must be prepared. super apeti

Progesterone level decreases. This decrease can cause some water weight throughout the body and some bloating, but not actual fat. It can be uncomfortable, nonetheless.

Testosterone (a form of androgen) level decreases. This hormone helped you to build lean body mass from the foods you ate. So a decrease in this hormone means less muscle is being build up, more potentially goes to fat and your metabolism slows as a result of a decrease in lean body mass or muscle. A pound of muscle burns 14 calories compared to fat burning only 2.

Androgen levels increase (or are at least out of proportion to dropping estrogen levels). This wonderful little hormone is actually the one responsible for telling the fat to go to the abdominal area so many gain have weight gain around the mid-section in menopause.

What Else Contributes To Menopause And Weight Gain?

If our little hormonal friends weren't enough to cause weight gain in menopause, here are some more.

Physical activity decreases. The body tends to start to slow around 30-40 years of age and people begin to become less active, especially by the time those menopausal years roll around. This combined with the hormonal changes can make keeping weight gain off in menopausal years even more difficult. gml apeti where to buy

Menopausal symptoms increase. Just the symptoms themselves can contribute to weight gain. Think about it. Sleeplessness that increases desire to eat more because you feel tired, irritability so you reach for comfort foods, hot flashes so reach for a cold soda pop and the list goes on.

Other potential causes, which sometimes occur with menopause and weight gain are hypothyroidism. Your thyroid hormone plays a part in using calories, so if this hormone is low, it can contribute to weight gain. Also, insulin resistance. Insulin helps utilize the food we eat. If it is not doing its job, then calories can turn to fat more easily. You don't have to be a diabetic to have this condition. Too many processed foods can slowly make the body more resistant to insulin produced in the blood stream. Another reason to start the nutritious lifestyle early on. Maybe that time has passed for us, but we can still encourage our children and grandchildren.