How to Overcome 9 Obstacles of Menopause Weight Loss

Curvy, petite, full-busted or thin… women come in all forms and sizes. You are stunning, no matter what shape you are! Remember that. ?
Loving yourself means embracing who you are and taking care of your body. There’s no need to exhaust yourself excessively, nor to be super skinny. It’s all about doing what’s best for your body and health. After all, menopause weight loss comes handy once you start living a healthy lifestyle!

Nowadays, many fad diets could shed those extra pounds rapidly. More often than not, their results don’t last long! You know why? Because the key to losing weight in menopause is by making holistic lifestyle changes! You see, you don’t have to flip your whole life around in a snap. Make small changes one step at a time! No matter how small they are, they can make a significant impact if you keep them every day!

A lot of people may link weight gain to menopause… Well, that is far from the truth! As we age, certain body changes may indeed be out of our control. Our lifestyle practices, however, play the most influential role in our weight gain! Don’t pressure yourself. Embark on your menopause weight loss journey with self-love and acceptance. Losing weight should not be about the final result; it should be about the process you want to keep throughout your life!

In this article, let’s find out the major factors that could get in the way of our fitness journey in menopause. You will also learn how to overcome these weight loss obstacles to finally reach your goal! Ready to kick-off? ?

9 Obstacles of Menopause Weight Loss

There’s so much behind weight gain that we need to understand and fix. It’s not only about poor diet or lack of exercise (even though they have major effects on our weight). Difficulty in losing weight most commonly originates from a long-term poor diet. Still, there are other reasons (insulin resistance, hormonal shifts, stress and more) behind weight gain that we need to be aware of! So, if you want to successfully release the excess weight, we need to go deep down to the root cause!

Here are the different possible roadblocks along the journey to menopause weight loss:

1. Hormone Imbalance

During menopause, our hormones go out of whack. Estrogen, insulin, cortisol and hunger hormones in our body all influence our weight!

One form of estrogen, called “estradiol”, drops low during perimenopause. Since this hormone promotes healthy metabolism and body weight, low estradiol count means we are at risk of weight gain.

Another hormone to talk about is serotonin — YUP, THE HAPPY HORMONE! What does it have to do with weight? ?

Sufficient levels of serotonin make us feel good, calm and satisfied. When serotonin drops to a low level, we do not only experience anxiety, emotional discomforts and become more easily stressed. Low serotonin is another reason behind our cravings!

Wondering about the several reasons why serotonin decreases? Here they are:

• Stress causes us to burn serotonin at a rapid rate.
• Inflammation and poor intestinal health are the other reasons, because most serotonin is formed in the intestine.
• Nutritional deficiencies also decrease our serotonin levels. When we don’t get enough essential nutrients, our body doesn’t have the “building blocks” it needs to form serotonin.

Hormonal imbalance weakens our body’s ability to regulate energy levels. Eventually, when you have too much or too little of a specific hormone, it will lead to significant weight gain and other menopause symptoms.

The bottom line? Always be mindful of the “little workers” inside your body. Give them a boost! ?

2. Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance happens when our cells become insensitive to insulin, the hormone that controls our blood glucose levels. It transports glucose (sugar) from the blood into our cells to be converted into energy!

If you have insulin resistance, your body stops responding to insulin and does not convert glucose for energy. Since blood glucose levels remain “stagnant”, the body continually produces insulin — which makes the resistance worse.

Now, if you’re wondering where the sugar goes, since it is not used, some are kept in our liver while others are stored as fats. One of the biggest areas in our body that can accommodate them is our belly… thus the pooch! ?

Moreover, people who have diabetes may experience weight gain as a side effect of insulin therapy. What? How could that be? I thought insulin helps regulate glucose levels!? You got that right. But remember, insulin also promotes fat storage in the body.

So, the best thing to avoid this is by reducing excess body weight through exercise and a healthy diet. Practice these natural ways along with getting quality sleep, managing stress and living a healthy lifestyle overall! These habits will not only help prevent insulin resistance and manage diabetes symptoms — they can even reverse the said conditions! ?

3. Leptin Resistance

Can you imagine yourself being constantly hungry? Isn’t that the complete opposite of what we’re all aiming for? ?

Well, this can happen to someone who has leptin resistance.

Leptin is a hormone that carries signals to the brain. When these signals reach our brain, we feel full and satisfied. Thus, we are not driven any longer to eat more! In a simple equation: When leptin levels increase, hunger decreases.

Leptin resistance occurs when the brain doesn’t “get the memo” that enough food has already come into your system. As a result, our brain interprets our feeling as hunger. Your brain will then turn on all the hunger signals to make up for the wrongly perceived hunger. That sounds bad!

Having leptin resistance means everything you eat goes straight into fat storage… because the body “thinks” that you’re starving or empty on energy levels! This condition is one of the most common hidden culprits of weight gain. You can workout in the gym 24/7 or eat like a bird and still not lose weight if you have leptin resistance.

Have a wider understanding of leptin resistance through this video from Jenn Pike, the founder of “The Simplicity Project”. With enough knowledge, we can put leptin resistance down to the ground! ?

4. Adrenal Fatigue

Did you know that our adrenal glands serve as “back-up” organs when our ovaries can no longer produce estrogen and progesterone? Interesting, right?!

The adrenals also regulate cortisol levels when you’re under stress. Sadly, like any other part of our body, the adrenals also get tired. Months or years of stress could drain your adrenal glands from producing hormones. ? Menopause itself is a stressful phase that could last for years, which could take a toll on our adrenal glands. Common symptoms of adrenal fatigue are sugar and salt cravings, gut disorders and weight gain.

Learn more about adrenal fatigue and ways to make these little glands happy through our article here! ?

5. Congested Lymph System

What does it mean to have a “clogged lymph system”? ?

Our lymphatic system eliminates toxins and foreign substances in our body. It acts as our personal drainage system! When our lymph system is not working properly, toxins building up in our body can lead to swelling and inflammation!

A poorly functioning lymph system also disrupts fat absorption. As a result, our tissues and cells are filled with fat deposits. Over time, you’ll be adding on weight. Other telltale signs of a congested lymph system are water retention, bloating, cellulite and digestive issues.

We got a special article about the importance of our body’s own little “drainage” system. Do your health a favor and learn more about it! ?

6. Stress

It’s a no-brainer that too much stress makes us fat. Why is that?

When we’re stressed out, the body releases cortisol and our metabolism become disrupted! Whenever cortisol levels are elevated, our cravings also increase and we tend to overeat. I mean, some foods really taste like a slice of heaven, don’t they?! The sweeter or the saltier the food, the better it feels. Next thing you know, the pounds have added up! ?

Oh, wait… it doesn’t just end there. Cortisol also affects where you put on the weight. Stress and high cortisol levels are responsible for the middle-age spread. That’s because cortisol causes fat to be stored centrally around our organs!

And so, the vicious cycle starts: we get stressed, we release cortisol, we gain weight, we crave sugar, we eat more sugar, we gain more weight. Sweetie, we need to break this curse! Here are 10 secrets to deal with stress! ?

7. Lack of Sleep

When sleep goes down, weight goes up! Easy equation, yeah?

When you don’t get enough sleep, your appetite and cravings intensify because sleep regulates our hunger and appetite hormones! It’s so much more than just a beauty rest, dear woman! ?

As mentioned above, the hormone leptin curbs appetite and promotes energy use. On the other hand, ghrelin causes us to eat more. When you lack sleep, leptin drops and ghrelin rises — making you feel hungry even when your body doesn’t really need food! Yup, just like a false alarm!

Have you noticed that when you’re tired, you’re more likely to grab sugary foods? This is because your body feels the need for a burst of energy. In other words, sleep deprivation also affects our food preferences!

Getting adequate, quality sleep is an essential part of successfully losing weight in menopause. Research has shown that even if you’re practicing a healthy eating plan for weight loss, insufficient sleep can reduce the amount of weight lost and encourage overeating. ?

Have a better grasp of sleep deprivation during menopause and manage it the natural way! ?

8. Sedentary Lifestyle

Well, this is one of those things that has become so universally-known. ?

I understand how relaxing it is to sit and watch a favorite TV show. Sadly, the less we move, the more numbers we tip on the scale! Also, when we don’t work out our muscles, they start breaking down.

You see, physical inactivity causes us to lose muscle mass and build up fats. Lack of exercise also slows down digestion, resulting in fewer calories burnt and eventually… weight gain. ?

Now, what do we do to avoid this? As straightforward as this can get, KEEP WORKING THAT BODY OUT, sexy one. When we get moving, we burn more energy and gain muscles. More muscles give us more tolerance for carbs!

9. Toxic Overload

We are exposed to thousands of harmful chemicals every day — a sad reality.

See that beauty product you love to use every day? Or that water bottle you have at home? Chances are high that these products contain toxic substances! The good news is that our system has a natural way of flushing these toxins out. However, it can only do so much. ?

If we are continuously exposed to toxins, our body won’t be able to keep up cleansing them. The result? Toxic overload.

Toxic overload could lead to weight gain in several ways. They interfere with our metabolism, affect our hormones and disrupt our brain function. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people who tested positive for endocrine-disrupting chemicals were more likely to be overweight. They also have higher chances of developing insulin resistance.

Be enlightened more through this video from Dr. Hyman, as he discusses how these chemicals can make us gain weight!

Overcome the Obstacles and Lose Weight in Menopause

Are you eager to overcome these weight loss obstacles and finally reach your fitness goal?

Then let’s make things simple, lovely one! DO THINGS THAT WILL BRING OUT THE BEST IN YOUR BODY AND OVERALL HEALTH! ?

► Keep Hormones Balanced

► Maintain Healthy Levels of Insulin and Leptin

► Avoid Chronic Stress

► Keep the Lymph System Clean

► Avoid Overworking the Adrenals

► Get Enough Sleep!

► Stay Active!

► Prevent Toxic Overload

Hey, I know that these practices look easier said than done. Weight loss doesn’t happen overnight! But do you know what makes you one step ahead now? THE KNOWLEDGE IS ALREADY IN YOUR HANDS. Take advantage of the know-how you have learned and start embracing these habits, one step at a time! ?

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