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7 Key Steps to Losing Weight after

Menopause!

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Menopause - that time in a woman’s life

when menstrual periods permanently end - is

associated with hormonal and metabolic

changes that can make weight loss very

difficult.

Although most of the strategies for losing

weight after menopause are the same as those

for losing weight prior to menopause, there

are a few things that require special attention

at this stage of life.

Here are 7 key steps to losing weight after

menopause.

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Step 1: Control Night Sweats

The loss of hormones that occurs at menopause often leads to hot flashes

and night sweats. From a weight loss perspective, night sweats are

particularly problematic because they frequently disrupt sleep. And

disrupted sleep can result in weight gain and difficulty losing weight.

Studies show that those who get fewer total hours of sleep are

more likely to be overweight or obese than those who routinely

get 7.5 – 8 hours of sleep a night.

And, improving your sleep can help you lose weight. In a study published

in the journal Obesity, researchers found that women ages 35 to 55

increased their chance of weight loss success by 33 percent simply by

getting more sleep.

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How to Alleviate Night Sweats

While supplements like black cohosh and EstroVera (made from rhubarb,

not soy) can help alleviate hot flashes and night sweats the best strategy, if

you are a candidate for it, is bio-identical hormone replacement therapy

(BHRT).

In addition to helping to alleviate night sweats, the hormone progesterone

(when taken orally) causes drowsiness in most people. So, when taken it at

bedtime, oral progesterone can provide additional help with sleep. For

more on improving sleep click here.

Be aware that, in addition to hormonal loss, eating sugar and drinking

alcohol in the evening can also cause or worsen night sweats. And, of

course, sugar and alcohol also contribute directly to weight gain.

More Benefits of BHRT

Before leaving this issue you should know that BHRT does more than just

eliminate hot flashes and night sweats and improve sleep. It can also

alleviate the mood swings and anxiety that occur during this time of life -

and the emotional eating that often accompanies them.

And it has many other benefits as well.

These include improvements in cognition and memory, decreased bone

loss, prevention of vaginal atrophy and a reduction in the risk of developing

cardiovascular disease. So, if you are experiencing symptoms of

menopause, consider bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.

Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy can

completely eliminate hot flashes and night sweats.

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Step 2. Stop Counting Calories

This might sound counter-intuitive, but counting calories is a sure way to

limit your weight loss, to regain everything you may have managed to

lose, and to have a much harder time losing weight the next time

around.

That’s because cutting calories leads to both lowered thyroid hormone

levels and a reduction in muscle mass. Both of these changes lower

metabolic rate, or the rate at which you burn calories at rest.

Prior episodes of low calorie dieting may be a big

part of the reason you are having difficulty losing

weight now.

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Since 75% - 80% of the calories you burn each day are actually burned at

rest, lowering your metabolic rate will eventually cause weight loss to stall.

And, since the number of calories you need each day is now reduced, it also

leads to weight regain.

The loss of muscle that results from low calorie dieting can also

give you an early ticket to the nursing home: Loss of strength due

to loss of muscle mass is the number one reason for nursing home

admissions in the US.

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Step 3 Start Resistance Training

Unfortunately it’s not just low calorie dieting that reduces the amount of

muscle you have. The aging process itself is associated with a progressive

loss of muscle. This loss of muscle lowers your metabolic rate which

translates to easy weight gain and increased difficulty losing weight.

As we age growth hormone levels decline and, at menopause, women’s

levels of testosterone decrease as well. Although this hormonal decline

contributes to muscle loss and makes it more difficult to rebuild muscle,

resistance training can be surprisingly effective even without hormone

replacement therapy.

But you can combat this loss of muscle with resistance or

weight training.

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In a study conducted by Tufts University, even wheelchair-bound

octogenarians were able to improve their strength enough to get up out of

their wheelchairs - and discard their walkers - after just a few months of

resistance training!

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Step 5: Reduce Stress

According to Web MD, stress is responsible for 75% of all doctor visits in

the US. I suspect that is an underestimate.

Stress causes unpleasant symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, back pain,

fatigue and headaches. It also increases the risk of developing every chronic

disease - including obesity and diabetes. So, reducing stress is good advice

for everyone, and especially for those of us who are trying to lose weight.

Unfortunately, women in their menopausal years are often faced with

increased stress. This can result from family situations like children who

are not quite making it on their own, elderly parents who require care, and

illness in a spouse or loved one.

Financial pressures can also come into play at this stage of life as it

becomes increasingly difficult to find a job (age discrimination does exist

) and as working women begin to consider retirement.

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Combating Stress

While ANY stress reduction technique is beneficial, I find essential oils

like lavender, vetiver and cedarwood, or blends like serenity, balance and

aroma touch work well. These can be applied topically, diffused into the air

or dropped onto your palms and inhaled. When used at bedtime they can

also help with sleep.

However, my favorite stress reduction tool is a biofeedback device known

as HeartMath. HeartMath can actually change your physiologic response to

stress. And you feel GREAT after using it. To learn more about HeartMath,

click here.

**Interested in learning more about essential oils? Watch your emails for

my upcoming webinar “Essential Oils for Health and Wealth”.

To learn how you can get wholesale prices on certified pure

therapeutic grade essential oils, as well as free products, contact me at:

dr.schibly@forgetcalories.org.

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Step 5: Check Your Thyroid

Thyroid hormone levels are frequently sub-optimal in both peri-

menopausal and post-menopausal women. If you are experiencing

symptoms of low thyroid hormone consider having your thyroid hormone

levels checked.

While not a magic bullet for weight loss, thyroid hormone does increase

metabolic rate and improves energy levels – especially in the evening. And

that can improve both mood and activity levels.

One word of advice: You will want to find a practitioner who checks T3

levels, not just TSH or T4. T4 is what your thyroid gland makes, but T3 is

the most active form of thyroid hormone.

While we were all taught in medical school that you convert T4 to T3 –

and you do - many people do not do this well. And low T3 levels will cause

symptoms of low thyroid hormone even when T4 levels are adequate.

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Step 6: Cut the Carbs

No one likes having to trim carbohydrates from their diet but, if you want

to lose weight, this step is essential. And it’s particularly important at this

stage of life.

When you eat carbohydrates, your body releases insulin. And insulin is

a fat synthesis, fat storage hormone. While many of us could get

away with higher carbohydrate consumption when we were younger,

prolonged exposure to high levels of insulin creates insulin resistance.

Unfortunately, since most of us have been consuming a high carbohydrate

diet for most of our lives, insulin resistance is a common condition in

menopausal women.

When tissues become resistant to insulin, insulin levels remain high even

in the fasting state. This makes it very difficult to lose weight - and very

easy to gain it.

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To lose weight, you need to reduce your insulin levels.

So, how low should you go? Well, to kick start weight loss, you may need

to go as low as 20-30 grams a day. Then, once you have lost the weight you

need to lose, you may be able to increase that amount to 60-100 grams a

day. (But keep a close eye on the scale as you do so!)

For more on diet, insulin and weight click here.

And to reduce your insulin levels you must limit your

consumption of carbohydrates.

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Step 7: Have a Microbiome “Tune Up”

(This May be the Most Important Step. . .)

We are just now beginning to appreciate that the composition and diversity of your gut microbiome – the trillions of microscopic bacteria and other organisms that live in your gut – is critically important to your health.

When your microbiome is healthy, you are healthy. And when your microbiome is unhealthy, it can cause you to suffer from fatigue, anxiety, depression, headaches, frequent infections, brain fog, sinus and skin problems and joint pain.

Even major illnesses like heart disease, autoimmune disorders and cancers may be attributable to an unhealthy microbiome.

And it now appears that the gut microbiome is a major determinant of body weight!

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These tiny organisms regulate the amount of calories you absorb from the food you eat and exert a major influence on the hormones that control appetite and metabolic rate.

And this is not just speculation. The effect of the microbiome on weight

has been demonstrated in several scientific studies.

In one such study, germ-free mice - who had no gut microbiome of their

own - were given fecal transplants either from obese people or from lean

people. After the transplants, mice who received fecal matter from obese

people became obese. But mice that received transplants from lean people

remained lean – even though their diets were identical to those of the obese

mice. **

Because the gut microbiome is damaged by antibiotic use as well as by

our intake of herbicides, pesticides (present on conventionally grown fruits,

vegetables, grains and legumes in the US), food additives, preservatives,

dyes and GMOs, accumulated damage to the gut microbiome may also help

explain why older adults gain weight more readily than younger ones.

Fortunately, you can do something about this.

Controlling your microbiome may be the key to losing those excess pounds – and keeping them off for good.

Differences in gut microbiome composition and diversity

may explain why some people can seemingly eat anything

and not gain weight while others can’t so much as sniff a

donut without adding on the pounds!

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How to Fix Your Gut Microbiome

You can now test your microbiome and received a personalized action

plan to fix it. Best of all you can order the test yourself and have the results

and recommendations sent directly to you. No doctor visits necessary!

To learn more about this test, to see how it has impacted others just like

you and to get $20 off the retail test1 price, click here.

Barbara Schibly MD

https://www.forgetcalories.org

1 $20 discount does not apply if other promotional sales prices are in effect.