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Perimenopause Weight Gain | What can you do about it?

by | Last updated: Apr 7, 2022 | Menopause, Perimenopause | 4 comments

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Do you ever wonder if you are gaining weight due to perimenopause? Well, it is very, very common to see weight gain in perimenopause. I am going to explain why and what you can do about it. Basically, weight gain is caused by an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone.

Normally, you should be making ten to fifty times more progesterone than estrogen, and you only do that if you ovulate regularly. And perimenopause is when you stop ovulating regularly. So you do not have as much progesterone on board. That makes you go into what is called an estrogen dominance state. This is where estrogen is higher in ratio to progesterone.

Estrogen, being a growth promoter, will actually start to stimulate your fat cells to hold onto more fat. You will also see that you have much more water weight gain. In perimenopause it’s not uncommon to begin to develop some insulin resistance. When you have more blood sugar floating around than your body can use for energy, you make more insulin. Too much of any hormone can create desensitized receptor sites.

If you are not using that extra sugar for energy production, it ends up getting stored in your body fat. The rest of your cells, like in your heart, for instance, will become resistant to that extra sugar. The increasing insulin resistance forces more and more of the extra sugar to be stored in your body fat. The fat tends to be between your armpits and your hips. You get wider in the middle. And that is all an estrogen related body fat storage that is actually induced by an insulin resistance. It is because you do not make enough progesterone to actually balance out your adrenal glands. It is a complicated system, and perimenopause is the trigger to the system.
So what are you going to do about it?

Follow an Insulin Resistant Diet

If you are having weight gain in perimenopause, the best thing you can do is follow an insulin resistant diet. An insulin resistant diet is one in which you avoid eating starchy, sugary foods. You are avoiding high glycemic index foods which are those carbohydrates that are broken down into sugar very quickly so that you will go into your fat storage for energy. It is like your pantry’s full of snacks. So use those up first before you start filling up the pantry again. Go into that fat storage. Use that to burn energy, and you are going to start to see some fat loss.

An insulin resistant diet includes a moderate amount of protein, some healthy fats, lots of colorful vegetables, a little bit of fruits, and absolutely avoiding starchy things like breads and pastas, sugars and baked goods. Trying to eat that way three times a day and drinking lots of water is the best way to actually start to break down that extra fat that you are storing.

Focus your fitness on HIT exercise

What is the best exercise for perimenopausal women when they are gaining weight? The best exercise is to exercise first thing in the morning to stimulate your metabolism all day long. And three times a week doing a HIT exercise -high intensity training -like interval training. After warming up do three 20 second sprints, then cool down. Just three times a week is all you need in order to to help reverse insulin resistance and actually start to see weight loss.

Studies have been shown that if you actually put a woman on an insulin resistant diet and have her add three HIT workouts three times a week, she will start to see a breakdown in body fat, especially around her middle. That is going to make a huge difference in the way she feels, and it actually decreases inflammation in the cardiovascular system.

Use Genesis Gold® for Diet Supplementation

Supporting your hypothalamus with nutraceuticals will help increase your metabolism and reset your weight set point. I actually developed Genesis Gold® to help balance out your hormones, and that is going to make a huge difference with your weight gain. Try to make sure that you’re getting enough chromium in your diet, but you can also take it as a supplement. It’s a very safe mineral that helps to reduce insulin resistance and allow you to lose that mid-line fat that you gain in perimenopause.

Research provides new insights into menopause and weight gain

About the Author - Deborah Maragopolous FNP

Known as the Hormone Queen®️, I’ve made it my mission to help everyone – no matter their age – balance their hormones, and live the energy and joy their DNA and true destiny desires. See more about me my story here…

     

4 Comments

  1. Maureen Greco

    I have tried that diet and it hasn’t worked. My clothes don’t fit and my stomach is getting bigger. I eat right and exercise ( I also lift weights ) I can’t figure out what is going wrong. Help!!

    Reply
  2. Rosalee Pinder

    I started putting weight on on my mid area severàl months ago. It is so incomfortable because now am having acid reflux issues.

    Please help.

    Reply

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