Menopausal Weight Gain

Roz Burnham

Metabolic Clinical Nutrition

Website: mysite.verizon.net/rozburnham

At menopause, important biochemical, hormonal, emotional and metabolic changes are occurring in a woman’s body.

These changes signal disruptions in the way the body processes food into energy on a cellular level.

Metabolism has been declining since the early 40’s and this means that the body has become less efficient at digesting food, assimilating nutrients and eliminating waste products.

Women may experience unexplained weight gain, food cravings, bloating, mood swings, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, irritability, memory lapses, poor concentration, tissue dryness, water retention, and decreased sex drive.

Experiencing these symptoms increases the amount of stress a woman is under and triggers the outpouring and elevation of many stress hormones.

One particular feature a woman notices is the change in the shape of her body. She begins to gain weight around her stomach area. Her shape changes from a pear to apple shape. She develops a type of fat deposition deep into the abdomen area. The waist expands and the ratio of the waist measurement to the hips changes dramatically.

This fat is dangerous to a woman’s health and is caused by the decrease and increase in certain female hormones.

Estrogen Dominance

Women have been given artificial estrogens for years to help ease the symptoms of menopause. Some women have been using birth control pills for years, which contain synthetic estrogens. Some have never taken any synthetic estrogens, but their body may be manufacturing too much estrogen, even after menopause.

Meat and dairy products contain growth hormones fed to animals to increase their weight. These hormones can be retained by a woman’s body and over stimulate her own estrogen production.

Too much estrogen causes tissues around the abdominal area to retain water and increases fat deposition into that area.

Progesterone

The hormone which counterbalances estrogen is progesterone. When a woman is estrogen dominant she lacks enough progesterone to keep estrogen from being destructive. High levels of estrogens increase the incidence of all female cancers of the breast, uterus and cervix.

Estrogen signals the body to store fat around the waist. High estrogen/low progesterone levels can impede weight loss, no matter how much you diet or exercise.

The Thyroid Gland

Estrogen dominance decreases and interferes with the thyroid hormone’s ability to signal the body to burn calories. The thyroid gland is the major gland of metabolism. Too much estrogen and a lack of progesterone slows down the thyroid’s activity causing calorie storage instead of calorie burning.

Increased Insulin

Insulin is a fat storing hormone like estrogen and is produced by the pancreas gland. When there is an excess of estrogen with a lack of progesterone, insulin is released more often and in greater quantities.

This greatly upsets the blood sugar leading to high and low blood sugar fluctuations and the increase in cravings for sweets and carbs.

The Liver

The liver is the hardest working gland in the body, responsible for conducting thousands of metabolic tasks every day.

It neutralizes toxins from prescription, recreational or otc drugs, environmental poisons and chemicals, and toxins coming from our food, air and water.

Good liver function is needed to break down fat and eliminate excessive hormones from the system.

The liver is involved in cholesterol and triglyceride regulation to keep the blood fat levels normal. If they are elevated, the body cannot signal stored fat to be released.

The liver also functions in the control of stable blood sugar by releasing stored sugars for energy when needed.