Its probably safe to assume that the reason you found this article is because youve gradually, but progressively gained some unwanted weight, especially around your mid-section. This is somewhat surprising since youve not necessarily changed your lifestyle or eating habits. As a matter of fact, theres a good chance youve even cut your caloric intake, but still the weight remains. Could this weight gain be associated with menopause? If youre a woman in your thirties of forties, the answer is yes most definitely. Weight gain, as you approach menopause, is quite common and often one of the first symptoms of menopause that women notice. This is true even if youre still experiencing regular periods.
You see, as you approach menopause your bodys hormone levels are declining, thus causing many changes to occur. As your estrogen levels decline, your body will naturally look for other places from where to get the needed estrogen. Unfortunately, fat cells are capable of producing estrogen, which results in your body working harder to convert calories to fat.
In addition to the declining levels of estrogen, your bodys testosterone levels are also declining. As you may know, testosterone is the hormone that converts your calories to lean muscle mass. Obviously, with lower testosterone levels youre now losing muscle mass. Since muscle burns far more calories than does fat, your body is no longer capable of burning calories the way it used to.
As you can see, your declining hormone levels are the main culprit behind all of the weight gain youre now noticing. Dont think for one minute that you need to accept or welcome this unwanted enemy because you can easily lose this menopausal weight gain. I recently published some inspirational quotes on my website to assist women in their everyday lives. One of my favorites comes to mind when I think about what makes so many women complacent when theyre faced with symptoms of menopause and weight gain. Jim Rohn once said Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. If your goal is to lose the weight youve gained, the only thing that can possibly stop you from accomplishing this goal is a lack of discipline.
If youre willing to put your discipline into high gear you will undoubtedly lose the weight youve gained due to declining hormone levels associated with menopause. Its important that you understand whats taking place inside your body so that youre well aware that simply cutting calories will not significantly reduce or eliminate the weight around your mid-section. You must build muscle to turn your body into a calorie-burning machine. You neednt be extreme, but an exercise routine that includes weight training at least three days a week will give you results that will astonish you.
Remember, Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. Dont be complacent. You're headed in the right direction because you researched the Internet seeking information regarding weight gain during menopause. Consider this the first step in your walk across the bridge to accomplishment. |
