Just as the menstrual cycle is a normal part of every female's body, menopause is equally normal and bound to happen any time after females reach the 40s. However, menopause causes significant weight gain, which can be quite stubborn to put off.

If you are also going through a menopausal transition or awaiting it anytime soon, know that losing this weight gain can be a bit tricky and challenging. Here is everything you need to know regarding menopause, especially how to lose weight during it.

Click here to find out how to lose weight during menopause

What is Menopause?

Menopause is referred to as a period of 12 months after a female's last menstrual cycle. After this period, a female typically experiences disruptive monthly cycles, hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain, and other changes in their body.

This menopausal transition usually occurs between the age of 45 to 55, and it typically lasts for about seven years, but can even extend to fourteen years in rare cases. The duration of menopausal transition depends on lifestyle factors such as age, ethnicity, race, and diet.

A woman's body undergoes several changes during menopause and acts uniquely and differently. Several changes in the body occur, such as body weight, energy levels, cell formation, and heart and bone health are affected significantly.

What are the Symptoms?

Many symptoms indicate a woman's menopausal transition, but they can also greatly vary due to age, race, ethnicity, and lifestyle factors. While some women might feel and experience severe symptoms, some women, on the other hand, might not feel any major changes in their bodies depending on the factors mentioned above.

However, here are the most common symptoms of menopause that most women experience on average:

Irregular Periods: You will certainly feel a change in your monthly menstrual cycles, such as heavy bleeding, spotting, no bleeding, periods lastly more than usual, or periods occurring in closer intervals.

Hot Flashes: Hot flashes are the sudden feeling of heat in the upper body that can last from a few seconds to a few minutes, and can happen from several to a couple of times a day. These hot flashes can be mild or severe enough to wake you up at night.

Weight Gain: You will experience weight gain in your body, which comes with a larger waist, muscle loss, fat gain, thinner skin, and aches in joints and muscles due to increased weight. Weight gain can lead to further ailments such as heart disease, palpitations, etc.

Sleep: Your sleep patterns will also be disrupted, and you will start waking up multiple times at night due to uneasiness and hot flashes; or you might find difficulty sleeping at all.

Uncontrollable Bladder: You can also experience a loss of bladder control and might find it difficult to control urine, feel a sudden urge to urinate, or accidentally urinate during laughing, sneezing, or exercise. Bladder infections are also common during this time, so it is always better to see a doctor.

Sexuality and Vaginal Health: Due to changing health of your vagina, you might feel more pain during sexual intercourse. You will also feel less interested in sex due to mood swings or can even feel an increased urge to have sex, depending on your personal experience.

Mood Changes: Drastic or sudden change in mood due to fluctuating hormones is also one symptom of menopause. You might feel irritable or moodier than usual, while stress, depression, and anxiety can also affect you. Talk to your physician if you experience these symptoms at large.

What are the Causes?

Females have all of their eggs stored in the ovaries since birth. These ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone levels responsible for menstruation and ovulation respectively, that causes change in hormones.

Menstruation stops when the ovaries can no longer release an egg every month, which causes menopause to happen. As estrogen levels decrease, your body starts to experience various symptoms and changes.

Usually, menopause can occur after a woman has hit her 40s. Still, it can occur early as well due to affected ovaries because of chemotherapy or removed ovaries through surgery or operation.

What Happens to Your Weight During Menopause?

As women undergo various hormonal changes during menopause, their bodies start gaining weight around their abdomen rather than the thighs and hips. Changes in hormones are the biggest factor in a woman's weight gain. However, this can get triggered due to more factors such as age, lifestyle, and diet.

With age, the muscle mass in a body typically decreases, making the metabolism of a body work slower than usual. This loss of muscle mass and slower metabolism work together for the weight gain in a female's body.

During this time, if an active lifestyle and healthy diet are not followed, uncontrollable weight gain is sure to happen. Genetics, eating habits, and lack of sleep can also trigger the weight gain process during menopause.

Understanding Hormone Changes

Menopause happens due to the inability of the ovaries to produce eggs every month. This process directly affects the production of estrogen and progesterone levels in a woman's body. The element estrogen is mainly responsible for the health and growth of female reproductive organs and maintaining sexual balance.

While the progesterone element is responsible for a woman's menstrual cycle, that partly affects the sexual functionality of the body. The estrogen level is also responsible for and affects any other organs in the female body, which also decreases hormonal changes.

Important Lifestyle Factors That Impact Weight

Women tend to gain weight naturally during menopause due to muscle loss and fat gain due to slower metabolism. In such cases, when a healthy diet and active lifestyle are not followed, it can greatly contribute to the weight gain process.

The reason is that more existing lifestyle factors can also impact weight gain, such as smoking, lack of sleep, genes, stress, pre-existing medical issues, and so on. However, by working on these lifestyle changes, you can effectively lose weight during menopause:

Exercise

Regular exercise is the best way to live an active life, as daily exercise can help build muscle mass and decrease fat gain. Aerobic exercise is an excellent way to keep your body toned and fit, in addition to resistance training or muscle-strengthening activities.  

You can initially start with daily walks, runs, or simple exercises of delicate nature and then move towards resistance training and muscle-strengthening exercises. Menopause usually impacts and increases weight gain in the abdomen, so exercises focusing on the abdomen should be preferred.

Sleep

Most women experience sleeping disorders during menopause that highly impact weight gain, decreased appetite, slower metabolism, and body fat composition. Symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes and night sweats, can greatly impact one's sleep.

However, it is important to prioritize sleep and restful nights for a healthy body and to help the weight loss process.

Diet

Diet, again is a significant factor that can impact your weight gain. A higher nutrient diet that is dense in all kinds of healthy fruits and vegetables should be followed, as this kind of diet can also help reduce the risks of heart ailments and increased lipid levels due to menopause.

A healthy diet should include:

• All kinds of vegetables and fruits

• Whole grains

• Legumes

• Lean proteins

• Healthy fats

A healthy diet also means avoiding:

• Calories

• White flour

• Foods with added sugar and oils

• Processed meat

Stress

Working on one's stress levels can also help you manage your weight gain and promote weight loss. Certain hormones in the body can trigger signs of stress, anxiety, and depression in a female's body that can be catered through the following ways:

• Consulting a Physician or Therapist

• Taking Anti-depressant medicines

• Performing Yoga or Meditation

• Herbal Treatments

• Hypnosis