Is it possible to achieve effective weight loss after menopause? Have you noticed that you’ve had trouble maintaining the weight that you used to be able to manage easily? Or do you find that your extra weight has started to accumulate around your abdomen specifically when it used to be evenly spread? Welcome to the post-menopausal trend! You may not be happy about it, but don’t panic, you can turn it around!
That’s the good news! The bad news is that in order to have weight loss after menopause, you’re going to have to accept that what has worked for you for the past 50 years, works no longer! Menopause-related weight issues generally begin during perimenopause. The majority of women gain about a pound a year during this time leading up to menopause. Don’t assume that changes in hormone levels are the primary cause for this weight gain, other factors such as lifestyle, genetics, and aging play an important role as well.
So how can you achieve weight loss after menopause?
First you need to understand what is going on inside your body. As you age, your caloric needs decrease because the aging process slows down your metabolism. Aging naturally causes the gradual replacement of muscle with fat. Remember that muscle burns more calories than fat. You now have less muscle…hence, the sluggish metabolism! Fortunately, there are relatively easy ways to jump start metabolism.
But where’s the incentive to work towards losing weight at this stage in life? Is it important to strive to reach your weight loss goal? Menopause and high blood pressure added to the mix can present additional risk for women. Consider that post-menopausal extra weight contributes to an increased risk of breast cancer, stroke, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. Is that incentive enough?
The strategies for weight loss after menopause are basically the same as they are for any kind of weight loss effort. Your biggest advantage is understanding why your metabolism slows and what you can do to try to counteract it.
The 10 Best Tips For Weight Loss After Menopause:
- Increase your activity! Choose simple exercise for seniors and incorporate it into your daily routine. A recent study showed that women who exercised just 2 hours a week (or 17 minutes daily) reduced their risk of heart disease and stroke by 27%, so you can lose weight and get healthier at the same time! Also try walking for weight loss.
- Add weight training to your workout. Research shows that people who lift weights weekly for two months gained nearly as much lean muscle as those who work out three times a week! This added muscle continuously burns more calories! Don’t think that a gym is imperative for weight training. You can use simple household items while doing repetitive lifts. The exercise indoors without special equipment page will give you some great ideas.
- Decrease the number of calories you consume. Check out the anti-ageing diet as an easy way to help you reduce the amount you eat and stay younger for longer!
- Make the calories count and learn to eat healthy! Dump the junk food and choose nutritious, low-fat, healthy alternatives. Even if you only did this 5 out of 7 days, the benefits would be incredible!
- Decrease alcohol consumption. If you used to be able to drink 2 glasses of wine every night without consequences, you may have to be happy with only one now. As an alternative, limit yourself to a half glass mixed with club soda.
- Save the things that you love, that you KNOW aren’t good for you, for special occasions, or learn to significantly decrease the amount you eat.
- Decrease the amount of sodium (or salt) in your diet. Try to rely on alternate spices to flavor your meals. Less sodium definitely affects the taste of food, so if the food doesn’t taste as good, you won’t want as much!
- Increase the calcium in your diet. Remember that research shows that calcium, found in low-fat dairy products, has a positive effect on weight loss. Try to incorporate low-fat or fat-free yogurt into your daily plan.
- Find ways to relax! Stress causes fat to accumulate in and around the abdomen, so find your inner yogi, and breathe! Yoga and weight loss go hand in hand!
- And finally, be aware! Just because you used to be able to eat the big bucket of popcorn at the movies and still look cute in your jeans, doesn’t mean you can now. They do have smaller buckets! Make small changes for big results!
Check out the Pilot’s Diet, and blast through your belly-fat in only 28 days! It’s totally FREE and you will be truly amazed at the results if you can stick to it for the entire 28 days without cheating! This diet, although very strict, makes weight loss after menopause seem almost simple!