5 Reasons for your Menopause Weight Gain

1. Not Sleeping

Incredibly, because of our changing hormone levels in menopause, we can add 1-2 kg a week during menopause when we can’t sleep. And we know this thanks to a Swedish study of 400 middle-aged women who recorded shortened sleep

duration and weight gain.

When we lose our precious deep sleep between 2-4am, then much of this weight becomes dangerous fat that goes on our belly and under our diaphragm “If you aren’t sleeping, then you aren’t losing.”

So forget the gym for a while, because when it comes to reversing weight gain, a good night’s sleep is the answer instead. I know that’s easier said than done when you’re suffering from hot flushes, night sweats, having to get up and pee, or restless legs and joint pain.

But when you’re awake night after night, this means that your glucose-carrying hormone insulin, remains higher than usual overnight. So too does your stress hormone called, cortisol. When this happens, this interferes with both melatonin and another sleep hormone called Adenosine.

As sleep deprivation accumulates, it can increase the risk of heart problems, anxiety and depression; resulting in even more sleepless nights and worsening night sweats.

2. Oestrogen Dominance

When menopause hormonal changes arrive and women don’t adjust their lifestyle to suit these changes, our fat cells turn towards storing any excess oestrogen that arrives from our diet and hormone-agents in the environment.

When this happens, there is more oestrogen stored in our fat cells and this ‘dominates’ the internal environment. Then as oestrogen becomes the dominant hormone and our liver isn’t clearing excess oestrogen efficiently, the role of progesterone changes too.

This is why liver health is important to us as we age. We clear excess oestrogens via our liver and during menopause, our liver changes in structure and function as part of our normal biological ageing of our organs.

3. Muscle Loss

Skeletal muscle has the most effect on our metabolism is when we begin to lose muscle, our metabolism drops off. Muscle loss is highest for women during menopause and the rate accelerates when we aren’t sleeping. Losing muscle means that we don’t ‘burn’ as many calories as we used to either. This muscle loss is normal and is a condition called sarcopenia.

But the effect of this is that we lose mitochondrial cells which are the location for fatburning and energy production in our body. So, focusing on some exercise, especially good old fashioned walking is an important part of the journey to losing menopausal weight.

4. Low Vitamin D Levels

Low oestrogen levels may cause low Vitamin D levels, which increases fat storage. Our skin is our largest organ and is full of oestrogen receptors. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and is produced in the skin with the help of oestrogen.

Therefore, many women are at risk of low vitamin D levels and because Vitamin D is now recognised as a hormone, low levels have an effect on other hormones in the body too.

When Vitamin D is low, hot flushes are increased and memory loss/ foggy brain becomes worse. We also experience more muscle soreness because Vitamin D is involved in the production of calcium and our bones and muscles require calcium to help them to remain strong.

Vitamin D is such a powerful hormone for women to monitor in menopause because it is also implicated in melatonin production. This is our sleep hormone, and when Vitamin D levels are low, our insomnia increases and our mood hormone, serotonin, is reduced.

Serotonin works with dopamine to help our mood and motivation. So, if you are on menopause-related anti-depressants, then ask your Doctor to also check your Vitamin D levels too. Restoring Vitamin D and sleep is crucial to your ongoing health and weight.

5. High Stress Levels

My number 5 reason, is for you not to forget that even though you still ‘feel young’, your internal cells, tissues and organs are ageing. This means that our body doesn’t resist stress as well as it used to, so blood pressure, heart rate and temperature go up more readily when we are feeling stressed and overwhelmed as we continue our busy lives.

Some stress is good for us, but the problem in our menopause transition is that too much stress (and this includes from not sleeping and/ or too much exercise) increases cortisol levels. This powerful hormone is one of your stress hormones but it works in conjunction with melatonin, your sleep hormone.

Too much stress (emotionally and physically) interferes with your sleep. When you don’t sleep, your insulin levels stay high and you resist overnight fat-burning. It’s a vicious cycle as so many women find.

The combination of ALL of these changes in our body during menopause is important.

• Not sleeping

• Changing liver health

• Loss of elasticity in our blood vessels

• Muscle loss

• Sore joints and

• Stress from our busy lives

All of these factors interact to create the ‘perfect storm’ for weight gain during our menopause transition and of course, our health starts to change as well.

When we don’t get on top of turning around these changes with our lifestyle, then the weight creeps on and stays. Exercise may not help to shift it either but once you lose weight, research shows that the right exercise can help to maintain your weight loss.

Millions of women transition towards changing heart health as they move into postmenopause. But we mustn’t ignore it. Because if we don’t stop the menopause weight gain mayhem, then we already know from our mother’s generation, that weight gain around the trunk at this time of life sends women into post-menopause heart disease, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.