Weight Gain And Perimenopause

Weight gain and perimenopause are closely related because many women experience unexplained weight gain especially around the midsection as they enter perimenopause, or while they are approaching menopause. Weight gain in the abdominal region is the most common complaint of women entering perimenopause. Most members of the medical fraternity describe this weight gain as an unavoidable "middle age spread."

Women do not have to accept this as the doctors describe it. Weight gain may be brought about by the onset of menopause or during perimenopause, the many years of your exposure to toxins, and hormonal imbalance. The body's natural ability to retain the estrogen-producing fat cells during perimenopause result in the extra weight gained during this time of life. However, it does not mean that this weight gain cannot be reversed.

Weight Gain: A Natural Phenomenon

Weight gain is only natural for women going through menopause or during perimenopause. The weight gain may be different in different individuals. However, there are some common factors responsible for the weight gain. The biofeedback of your body regulates your appetite, heat regulation, metabolism, detoxification, and digestion.

Any long or chronic disturbance to this system will cause a great increase in weight. Probably the most outstanding symptom of perimenopause is the craving for food apart from the usual hot flashes. The craving for food and the consumption thereof is the main cause for the increase in weight of perimenopause women.

Hormones and Body Chemistry Influence Weight Gain

There is a vital link between weight gained and insulin, metabolism, and body fat in women during perimenopause. Women should follow a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet to control the weight gain. This diet creates a resistance to insulin in the body over an extended period of time. This resistance to insulin causes the body to convert every calorie into fat; this happens while you are dieting. As the conversion happens, the body becomes very effective in processing calories which in turn avoid excessive fat.

Control Stress

Stress hormones add to the misery of women during perimenopause. Cortisol is a stress hormone that blocks weight loss very effectively. So, a woman going through a lot of stress during perimenopause will gain weight considerably. Diet, exercise, nutritional supplements, and relaxation should be the main course of life during perimenopause.

This should start typically at the age of 35 and is known as self-help or perimenopause management. If you feel that you are gaining weight after 30, eat a little less and exercise a bit more and do some yoga or meditation to maintain or manage the stress levels of the mind at lower levels than they are at the time and you will maintain your health and weight in better proportions than you can perceive.