1. Hormone fluctuations
Problem: During the menopause your hormone balance changes. The production of estrogen and progesterone falter, just like that of ghrelin and leptin, your hunger and satiety hormone. Many menopausal women also suffer from delayed thyroid function and high cortisol levels due to long-term stress. All this has a major impact on your well-being and can also contribute to weight gain.
Solution: Have your hormone balance checked and a tailor-made solution developed. Take bioidentical estrogen and progesterone to supplement your own sputtering hormone production. After all, long-term estrogen deficiencies promote age-related disorders such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and dementia.
2. Insulin resistance
Problem: Menopausal women usually have higher fasting insulin levels and are more likely to develop insulin resistance. Insulin resistance increases the craving for sugar and increases the risk of weight gain, breast cancer, dementia and cardiovascular disease.
Solution: The cause often lies with unhealthy eating habits (a lot of sugar, carbohydrates and processed foods). So adjust your eating habits.
3. Lose muscle mass
Problem: Many women have a less active lifestyle from the age of 50. As a result, they produce less muscle mass. And the less muscle you have, the fewer calories your body burns at rest.
Solution: Move more. Your brain gets better blood flow and can give more energy.
4. Chronic sleep deprivation
Problem: A lack of sleep disrupts your hormone production (especially the production of leptin, ghrelin, insulin, cortisol and melatonin). That has a major impact on your hunger and satiety feeling. The greater your sleep deprivation, the more hungry you get and the greater your sugar requirement becomes. So chronic sleep deprivation makes you fat.
Solution: Improve your sleep hygiene (no caffeine after lunch, no blue light before bedtime, only go to sleep when you feel tired…)
5. Digestive problems
Problem: If your digestion is not optimal, your body is not able to absorb the necessary nutrients. This is how you get problems such as intestinal cramps, irritable bowel, reflux, stomach ulcers, leaky gut, diarrhoea, constipation … In addition, intestinal problems also have a major impact on your brain, immunity, emotions, behavior and weight. Hunger and the feeling of being satisfied are not only controlled by the brain, but mainly by the intestines.
Solution: A healthier diet, possibly supplemented with vitamin and nutritional supplements, improves your digestion.
Where does our waistline go?
Why is it that so many women in menopause see their waistline disappear and store more belly fat? “Estrogen is the female hormone par excellence. It ensures that a woman gets hips and breasts,” says Leen. “There are three types of estrogen: estrone, estradiol and estriol. The main estrogen is estradiol. It’s your body’s own estrogen that you produce when you’re on your way to ovulation. During menopause, your estradiol drops very quickly, which shifts your fat from your hips and thighs to your abdomen. After all, your body tries to compensate for the loss of that estradiol by producing estrone, which is mainly found in abdominal fat.”