A Menopause Weight Gain 3 Doctors Couldn’t Help

• Do you strength training twice a week to muscular fatigue? 
• Are you able to lift heavy, using weights that cause fatigue within 10 or fewer repetitions? 
• Are you consuming adequate calories daily? 
• (If you’re trying to lose weight are you creating no more than a 250-500 kcal deficit with a diet higher in protein than normal to minimize muscle loss?)
• Are you fueling before and after your intentional exercise sessions? 
• Are you consuming at least 30 grams of protein (not by weight) per meal?
• Do you consume high-quality protein based on essential amino acids? 
• Do you prioritize your exercise time and energy around activity that allows muscle and bone maintenance before other activities that don’t support aging optimally the same way?  

If you answered no to any of those questions (and the more questions you answer no to), you’re more at risk for growing weaker, sicker, and fatter as you age. 

Muscle and bone losses begin after each peak at 25 and 30 respectively. During menopause you’re at risk of losing both muscle and bone at an accelerated rate. This is especially true in the late stage of perimenopause and early stage of post menopause. The dramatic decline of estrogen that occurs during this time is the cause. Estrogen services as a stimulus for lean muscle tissue. Without estrogen you need something to replace that stimulus. 

The words women echo to me over and over are, “nothing I’m doing works anymore.” “I haven’t changed anything and I’m gaining weight.” Bingo. 

When you no longer have the stimulus from estrogen, as well as less testosterone and growth hormone, you have two solutions. 

HELLO, WEIGHT TRAINING, NEW BEST FRIEND

One is strength training and the other is protein.

Menopause combined with pandemic effects of reduced activities of daily living, gym closures and dumbbell shortages, increased stress, and research reports of significant weight (fat) gain, a large percent of the population is at elevated risk for health concerns. Those who were exercising more, weren’t necessarily doing more of the activity that preserves muscle and bone.

Without mitigation during aging, and specifically menopause, the female human body becomes weaker and fatter. This combination of sarcopenia and obesity, is referred to as sarcobesity. If you’ve lost muscle and gained fat weight during the pandemic, that does not bode well for a healthy future. Not only have losses been significant but they’ve occurred during a relative short window of time. 

WHAT WAS TRUE FOR YOU?

If you evaluate your past 18 months, would you say it accelerated or slowed your aging? 

The percent of people who actually track their lean muscle tissue and fat weight is fairly small. It’s grown in the last 3-5 years with the affordability and availability of smart scales for home use. It’s one of the #1 home fitness tools I recommended every home have during the pandemic. While I used to suggest going to a fitness center, or a nutrition center, or oddly enough the rare doctor’s office to have body composition tests done regularly, during the pandemic that came to a halt. Every home should have a smart scale.

In early 2021 a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) tracked smart scale users with bluetooth technology. Average weight gain was 1.5lbs a month during the pandemic. By May 2020 that would have been 20lbs. A study published slightly later by the American Psychological Association found the number was between a range of 15 and 29 lbs. 

Chances are good this wasn’t muscle.

Weight training should be mandatory after 50 and here’s why.

You have an opportunity to:

1. Reverse th...