Should menopausal women be eating like weightlifters? That’s certainly what a new analysis suggests. Scientists from Semmelweis University in Budapest looked at 134 studies and found that certain eating habits, including high consumption of protein, could alleviate some of the most common symptoms of midlife hormonal fluctuation — with weight gain, a chief concern for many women, among them.
We asked EMMA BARDWELL, a leading menopause nutritionist and co-author of The Perimenopause Solution, to give us the lowdown on what we really need to eat to avoid the average 10kg weight gain — or lose it if that menopausal muffin top has already settled in — and sail through those hormonal changes.
Weighty matters
Fibre works in a similar way to Ozempic. The injections send signals to the brain to tell it to turn off your appetite hormones — and when fibre fills up your stomach it does the same thing
First, the good news. You can eat your way through the menopause — and feel considerably better for it. You don’t have to accept that spare tyre, and you won’t be alone in wanting to shift it.
Unfortunately, muscle mass declines with age, and this, combined with being more sedentary due to menopause symptoms such as joint pain and urinary incontinence, plus, potentially, emotional eating, can exacerbate weight gain.
Menopause can have other effects on weight and body shape. One hypothesis is that fat cells produce oestrogen, and this is why it can be so hard to shift: your body is clinging on to oestrogen at all costs. We know that oestrogen encourages fat to be stored, preferentially, around the bum, hips and thighs, so when levels dip, we become less pear and more apple shaped.
Not sleeping, because of hot flushes or anxiety, also affects hunger hormones. Ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry, is higher, and leptin, which is produced when you’re full, reacts more slowly. So you can see you’re in the perfect storm.
Worse, putting on weight doesn’t just add to low mood, it can also exacerbate hot flushes and potentially increase the risk of chronic diseases further down the line.
At its most basic level, weight gain is about consuming too many calories. It’s simple physics. So, whatever you eat, as long as you’re in a calorie deficit, which is to say consuming fewer calories than you’re using, you will lose weight.
There was a very famous study done called the Twinkie diet, where, instead of eating meals, a professor in America ate only Twinkies (sponge cakes with a creamy filling) and other sugary snacks — and he lost almost 30 pounds.
I don’t, however, suggest you follow suit. It makes sense to eat healthy, nutrient-dense foods at all ages, but especially during the menopause transition. This is where protein comes in, because it’s very filling.
Then there’s volumetrics, where you fill up on lots of nutrient-dense but low-calorie foods, such as vegetables, fruit and wholegrains.
If weight loss is your goal, it’s important to be realistic, consistent and patient. You could, perhaps, shave between 300 and 500 calories from your current food intake.
This could come from drinks such as lattes, juices and alcohol, or the frequent snacks and grazing that makes up so much of our diets. It doesn’t have to mean deprivation or restriction.
An interesting fact, given the buzz around weight loss injections such as Ozempic and Wegovy, is that fibre works in a similar way.
The injections send signals to the brain to tell it to turn off your appetite hormones — and when fibre fills up your stomach it does the same thing.
It’s not quite as much of an overnight success as the jabs, but it’s the same pathway — and certainly less expensive.
Nature’s Ozempic, if you…
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