MENOPAUSE AND WEIGHT GAIN

Menopause and weight gain can be so discouraging and scary altogether. Weight gain can rob you of expanded activities you can do before and foods you want to eat - yes, because you easily feel tired and catching your breath after a few activities and then you have to control your food intake otherwise you will just end up gaining more instead of losing some. And that is a no-no. Yes, menopause and weight gain can be a terrible combination. It is also likely related to your thyroid functions and thyroid hormones.

Menopause, Thyroid Hormones and Weight Gain - What is the Connection?

Menopause refers to the natural process happening among women. Menopause age range is generally around 45 - 60 wherein the menstruation stops and consequently, estrogen hormone level significantly drops also. And for the record, menopause is not a disease or illness. It is a gradual process as women age. Menopause has three stages namely, perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause.

Thyroid is responsible for producing thyroid hormones which are practically very important in almost all of the body’s organs and functions. Say for example, you need energy when doing laundry in a day, your thyroid hormones are the ones that furnish you the sufficient energy to finish the certain task of doing the laundry. So having low thyroid hormones will make you unable to start or even finish a task.

Low thyroid hormones is an illness or complication called hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can bring about some severe complications if left untreated and one of them is weight gain. (1) Menopause and weight gain now becomes scary. Would you agree that menopause is not really the best time to gain weight? Yes to that! You might say, “Of course, I will do everything to maintain an ideal weight as I go through my menopausal!” That is true, health-wise speaking. Furthermore, being in good shape makes you feel good about yourself, boost your confidence and self-esteem and your mind will be at ease knowing that your health is in good condition. Don’t you agree?

Furthermore, during perimenopause, estrogen hormone levels fluctuate. Higher levels of estrogen is linked to gaining weight and high body fat. An then when one is at the menopause stage, the level of estrogen tends to be low which is linked to high belly fat. Storage of belly fat is not a pretty thing. But more than just for the purpose of a better appearance, weight gain especially around the waist or belly may impose some potential health risks such as cardiovascular diseases - hypertension and stroke - along with other issues brought about by menopause and weight gain. (2)

I started putting weight soon after menopause.

Being pear shaped, bigger and rounder hips, I didn't have fat issues around my upper body; no bulging fat on my back around the bra area. Friends also commented how lucky I am as my tummy is flat that I can still tuck in my shirts.

I enjoyed that until I hit 51 when I started to get big around the torso area and not only that, my hips and bottom area are getting bigger as well.|

5 months into the lockdown (due to COVID-19), I went to have my general check up. With the results back to my GP , my BP is a bit high and for the FIRST TIME, my cholesterol went up. Visceral fat around the upper body can cause serious health problems and I'm now starting to show signs of fatty liver. I was told I need to loose weight.

Loosing weight during menopause is not as easy compared to when you're young. It's not like reduce the amount of food, be more active and exercise and you'll loose weight... no, not like that at all!

With hormones now part of the equation, loosing weight during menopause becomes incredibly hard I could cry . But I am determined to keep myself healthy, in fact , when someone in the family is sick, I always tell myself "I love them dearly and love to look after them, I always tell myself , I'm not allowed to get sick." {Check my journey to loose weight here.}

I was 54...

How Concerned Should I Be?

Granted, gaining weight is usual as an individual advances in age. And complications of menopause and thyroid hormones being low sometimes overlap. There is also the possibility that hypothyroidism may increase the risk of some menopausal complications such as heart disease and osteoporosis. (2) However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thyroid problems can be treated. So if you are worried if what you feel are just menopause complications or thyroid problems, it is best to see your physician.

Here are some of the information you must make sure to have when consulting your physician, according to Neel Duggal of Healthline: (3)

Family history of thyroid problems
Symptoms such as mood swings, hot flashes and weight changes
How long and how severe you experience these symptoms
Your eating patterns
Irregularities of your menstrual period

5 Suggestions you can do to check

complications of menopause and thyroid hormones.

1. Blood test

Apparently, menopause women need the information from blood test which will help your physician identify your thyroid functions.

Some available blood tests depending on your physician’s assessment.

Different blood tests for thyroid functions are TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) Test, T4 Test, T3 Test and TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin) Test.

2. Take control of your food intake

Take control of your food intake and make sure you eat food which are healthy, low in carbohydrates and high in proteins and nutrients.

Eat food which are healthy, low in carbohydrates and high in proteins and nutrients.

That said, fruits and vegetables should be included in your diet.

3. Daily exercise

Have daily exercise with the goal of strengthening your muscle.

Have the goal of strengthening your muscle.

Strengthening your muscle helps your metabolism, burn calories and take better control of your weight. (3)

4. Improve your sleep.

Improve your sleep because lack of sleep makes you gain more weight

Due to lack of sleep, we have the tendency to eat more and develop more fat around the waist.

Due to lack of enough sleep, we have tendency to eat more and develop more fat in your waist - this is called visceral fat and it can "actively increase the risk of serious health problems". (4)

Sleep Well Herbal Tea may help.

5. Keep yourself from worrying.

Keep yourself from worrying and stressing even on over small things will not help.

“Your strength will be in keeping calm and showing trust” in Jehovah. (5)

Worrying or being anxious can actually make things worse. It will make you gain more weight. And of course, you don’t want that, right?

Be realistic and keep a positive disposition. Menopause can really make some changes in your body and health so be realistic when it comes to your expectations.

And when things don’t go as expected, just be positive and realise that these are some of the natural processes in life and you can get through menopause and weight gain, eventually.

REFERENCES

1) https://www.verywellhealth.com/thyroid-disease-menopause-link-3231797

(2) https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/winning-the-weight-battle-after-menopause

(3) https://www.healthline.com/health/menopause/thyroid-and-menopause#complications

(4) https://www.healthline.com/health/visceral-fat#:~:text=Visceral%20fat%20is%20a%20type,intestines(5) https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/nwt/books/isaiah/30/