Menopause Belly: Why It Happens and What to Do About It [Ep 18]

In this episode, Lisa kicks off her Menopause Mini-Series by discussing how menopause affects body composition and metabolism. She explains the difference between perimenopause and menopause, and how hormonal changes during this time can lead to weight gain and the accumulation of visceral fat in the midsection. Lisa also highlights how the body's metabolic rate slows down during menopause, making it harder to burn calories and maintain a healthy weight. Finally, she introduces a free virtual "Lose Your Menopause Belly" challenge that offers science-backed strategies to help women jumpstart losing menopausal weight gain.  

Shared in this episode:
1. Understanding Menopause and Perimenopause
2. Body Composition Changes During Menopause
3. Metabolic Changes During Menopause
4. Solutions to Combat Menopause Weight Gain

Sign up for the FREE virtual 5-day “Lose Your Menopause Belly" event that includes daily emails during the challenge with more in-depth strategies, inspiration for taking action, healthy recipes, and access to the event Facebook group where you can get expert guidance and personalized support.  The challenge runs May 30th-June 3rd.  Busy that week?  Sign up anyway so you’ll get access to all the information, resources and recordings delivered right to your inbox. 

Follow the show for the next episode in the series about staying active during menopause.

Thanks for listening!

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Transcript

Hello, hello! Welcome to the Midlife Mojo podcast - Menopause Mini-Series!  I’m your host, Lisa DuPree and I’m excited for this mini-series because this topic is near and dear to my heart, being that I’m in my 50’s and have found that menopause is not for the faint of heart. 

So, for the next 3 weeks, I’ll be keeping the episodes short and sweet, focusing on several aspects of the menopause experience.  And for any men tuning in, if you have midlife females in your family and friends circle, feel free to stick around, cause what I’m talking about may help you better understand what's going on with them at this time in their lives.  

Today, I'll be talking about how menopause affects body composition and metabolism. The term menopause is sometimes used to describe both perimenopause and menopause, however, there are some differences.

Perimenopause is also called the menopausal transition because it's the time in which your body begins making the natural transition to menopause. Women start noticing the onset of perimenopause at different ages, usually sometime in their 40’s. Typically signs are menstrual period irregularity, hot flashes, sleep problems, changes in libido, mood swings and weight gain. These changes are due to levels of estrogen — which is the main female hormone — rising and falling unevenly during perimenopause. 

Once you've gone through 12 consecutive months without a period, perimenopause is considered to be officially over. You’ve reached menopause and the end of the reproductive years.

This natural biological process typically happens between the ages of 45 and 55, but can happen before that or go on later than that. During this time, the body experiences a decrease in the production of both estrogen and progesterone. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll stick with using the word menopause to describe this whole decade or more long process. 

One of the most significant changes that occurs during menopause is the loss of muscle mass and increase in body fat. This is because estrogen helps regulate body fat distribution. When estrogen levels decrease, more fat is stored in the abdomen. As a result, women may experience weight gain, particularly around the waistline with waist circumference typically increasing significantly over the menopausal transition. 

A growing belly can be the result of both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. The fat we can feel just under the skin is subcutaneous fat. Intra-abdominal fat (the fat that is stored within our abdomen cavity) is visceral fat. Think of an apple shaped body.  Visceral fat is a hormonally active component of total body fat. It has unique biochemical characteristics that influence normal and disease  processes.  Storing more fat in the belly is associated with metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and several types of cancers. 

Menopause can also affect metabolism. As estrogen levels decrease, the body's metabolic rate slows down, and this makes it harder to burn calories. Plummeting Estrogen levels seems to be an important trigger for these changes as it alters total energy expenditure and resting energy expenditure. This makes it more difficult to maintain a healthy weight and body composition. 

Losing muscle, gaining fat, and a myriad of other annoying symptoms like hot flashes, less restful sleep, mood changes and diminished sex drive feels a bit like adding insult to injury, doesn’t it? The result is that the exercise routines, eating habits and sleep patterns that worked well in the past no longer seem to be doing the trick.  Things that we did in our 20’s and 30’s to lose body fat or maintain weight don’t work now that we are in our 40’s and 50’s.  

That is why I have put together a FREE  “Lose Your Menopause Belly” challenge to help jumpstart midlife weight loss using science-backed strategies so you can  get back to being fit and feeling fabulous this summer. This free virtual 5 day event is happening Tuesday, May 30th through Saturday, June 3.  When you sign up, you’ll get a daily email during the challenge that goes more in depth with key science backed strategies, healthy recipes, and access to event facebook group where you can get expert guidance and personalized support. 

To sign up for this free challenge, go to https://tinyurl.com/LYMB5 or use the link in the shownotes to sign up. 

And keep a look out for part 2 of the mini-series next week about staying active in menopause.  Follow the show so you don’t miss it and I hope to see you during the free 5 day challenge!

Take care and bye for now!