Destined to be
fat?
Nine
tips for handling midlife weight woes
Meal plan examples
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We women are like fine wines: We just get better
with age. Save for one little detail: our weight -- which seems fated
to skyrocket once we hit that developmental milestone, menopause.
According to the North American Association for the Study of Obesity,
obesity in women has nearly doubled in the past two decades; it is a
problem that researchers say is particularly acute during
perimenopause, the three- to 10-year period preceding menopause. The
Women's Healthy Lifestyle Project, a five-year study of 585
perimenopausal women funded by the National Institutes of Health,
found that women who don't change their lifestyles gain an average of
5.2 pounds during that period.
But before you throw in the towel and submit to
age-related weight gain, consider this: Understanding the new set of
rules governing your body's changes can provide you with concrete ways
to manage your weight. Here's what is happening: As you age, your body
stops ovulating and produces less and less estrogen. Meanwhile, the
hormone testosterone (no, it's not just in men) remains at the same
level. This increased testosterone-to-estrogen ratio triggers the
expansion of our waistlines, since our fat distribution changes to be
more like a man's, shifting from our hips and buttocks to our waists.
(One bright note: Once this transition is completed, half of all women
find that their thighs have actually decreased in size!)
As your waistline fills out, some weight gain is
inevitable, although the amount can range from two to 20 pounds.
However, another key finding of the Women's Healthy Lifestyle Project
was that women who engage in physical activity and adhere to a
low-fat,
reduced-calorie diet are very likely to either maintain their weight
or lose weight. The bottom line: Your hormones don't have to have the
last word -- you can keep off the weight. Here are nine tactics
for staying fit during perimenopause:
1. Pump some iron. Lean body mass, which
acts as a calorie-burning machine, naturally decreases as you age.
Lifting weights two to three times a week can help you maintain your
muscle mass and keep your metabolism revved.
2. Exercise your options. Your metabolism
slows down 10% to 15% during midlife, mainly due to decreased muscle
mass. Aerobic, cardiovascular exercise is crucial to minimizing the
weight gain and fat storage that would naturally result from this
downshift. Walk, jog, bike, swim or do an aerobics tape for at least
one hour a day most days of the week.
3. Eat right. Dieting -- defined as
traditional low-calorie plans, so-called fat-burning pills and fad
diets, including Atkins -- can actually worsen midlife weight gain.
That's because dieting increases the level of enzymes that tell your
body to store fat. To effectively manage your weight through food,
craft a balanced diet of nutrient-rich foods and eat only when you are
hungry.
4. Cut quantities. As we age, our bodies
need fewer calories. If you downsize the amount you eat at each meal,
but increase the number of meals you have each day, you'll find that
you have more energy and a more balanced mood. Aim to consume five or
six small meals each day, eating no more than three fistfuls of food
each time.
5. Seek satisfaction. With less estrogen in
your body, it's easier to overeat, since estrogen helps trigger the
feeling of being full. However, eating high-satiety (aka
filling) foods, including those high in protein (such as chicken,
turkey, eggs, fish, beans, tofu, nuts) and those high in fiber
(such as whole-grain cereals, dried beans, whole-grain crackers,
fruits, vegetables), help you feel satisfied and stop you from
overeating.
6. Love lunch. It's a somewhat controversial
concept, but some experts recommend eating your biggest meal at lunch
rather than dinner to control weight gain.
7. Limit alcohol. Since alcohol has been
shown to increase abdominal weight gain, do not have more than one
drink per day.
8. Relax! Periods of stress cause increased
storage of fat around the abdomen -- and years of stress can actually
disrupt your fat cells' ability to make estrogen, causing them to
expand in an effort to compensate. The best thing you can do is not
get too worked up about impending weight gain (or anything else!) and
find ways to release stress -- through exercise, meditation,
journal-writing, therapy or conversations with friends.
9. Look on the bright side! There is some
good news: Once you've completed the "change of life," your fat cells
start to shrink and produce less fat. While you will never have the
metabolism you had when you were 20, your weight will get somewhat
easier to manage after perimenopause.
by Evelyn Tribole,
R.D.,
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