Navigating weight gain during perimenopause and menopause
You probably know that menopause is something most women reach between 45 and 55, but what you might not know is that it’s a life stage that’s about so much more than simply saying goodbye to your period.
The reality is the changes in hormone levels that occurs around menopause and the phase leading up to it, called perimenopause, bumps up the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, as well as weight gain and changing where weight gathers on the body. And then there are the symptoms you can experience at this time too, things like hot flushes and night sweats, muscle and joint aches, disturbed sleep and emotional changes.
Thankfully there are steps you can take and changes you can make to help protect your health and wellbeing. “Maintaining a healthy weight along with healthy lifestyle habits, can not only help you manage menopause symptoms in the short term, it can lay the foundations for good health through perimenopause, menopause and into the future,” says Nicole Pritchard, CSIRO Total Wellbeing Dietitian.
Below, Nicole answers a few key questions to help you understand what to start and perhaps stop doing to manage symptoms, set yourself up for a smoother transition and lay the foundations for a healthy future post-menopause.
Why does menopause increase the risk of some diseases?
“A drop in oestrogen levels during perimenopause and menopause increases the rate of calcium loss in the bones, which can increase the risk of osteoporosis,” says Nicole. “Plus, as oestrogen levels decrease, protection against heart disease also falls.”
Falling oestrogen levels can also cause fat to start being stored around your waist rather than your hips and thighs. On top of bumping up the risk of heart disease, this can also raise the risk of diabetes, dementia and some cancers.
“Fortunately,” says Nicole, “improving your diet and losing weight if you’re overweight can help manage the risk of these oestrogen-related changes.”
What’s the best diet to eat in the leadup to menopause and beyond?
“The ‘best menopause diet’ is a balanced diet that you can stick with long term,” says Nicole, “as well as being one that’s rich in nourishing, fresh foods, prioritises protein and is low in saturated fat, added sugars and sodium to help reduce the risk of weight gain and is healthy for your heart.
“The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet is ideal for those going through perimenopause or menopause due to its higher-protein, low-GI eating plan, which not only assists with weight loss and maintenance but will also help you meet your essential nutrient requirements to reduce the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis.”
Why is eating plenty of protein so important at this life stage?
“Oestrogen plays a role in maintaining muscle mass. So, eating foods high in protein is important to maintain muscle mass as we age and as oestrogen levels decline,” says Nicole.
And maintaining muscle mass is vital, because as it starts to decrease, it slows your metabolism, which can further contribute to weight gain.
Diets that are higher in protein and low GI, like the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, can also lead to better appetite control, reduced food cravings and a reduced energy intake because you feel fuller for longer.
As a result, 10 years of research shows that the Total Wellbeing Diet is proven to deliver healthy and sustainable weight loss.
CSIRO research has also shown that when protein is distributed more evenly across main meals, cravings are reduced and hunger is better managed making it easier to lose weight. The science suggests that eating 25 to 30g of protein per main meal is the threshold for appetite control.
The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet makes achieving this simple, by offering a range of protein balanced meal plans.
Aside from protein, which other nutrients should I keep an eye on?
- Calcium and vitamin D. “Getting enough of both of these will help to protect your bones,” says Nicole.
“Calcium-rich foods include low-fat dairy foods, fish with tiny edible bones like sardines or canned salmon, edamame beans, dark leafy greens and sesame, poppy and chia seeds.
“Vitamin D is also very important for bone health as it helps the body absorb calcium from food. Direct sunlight is the best source however it’s also in oily fish, red meat and egg yolks. You can also super charge your mushrooms by placing them in the midday sun for just 15 minutes to drastically increase the vitamin D levels!”
- Dietary fibre. “Fibre is well known for its digestive-support powers but what you might not know is that making friends with fibre is one of the strategies you can use to lower your cholesterol, keep your heart healthy and improve your mood,” says Nicole.
“To get more soluble fibre — the type that helps lower cholesterol — make sure you include things like oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, beans, legumes, fruits and vegetables.
“It’s best to increase fibre in your diet gradually over a period of a few weeks, to give your gut time to adjust. And make sure you drink plenty of water because fibre works best when it absorbs water.”
- Salt. Eating too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, which is one of the biggest risk factors for heart disease. The Heart Foundation recommends eating no more than 5 grams of salt a day, which is about a teaspoon (or 2000 milligrams of sodium). Worryingly, most people in Australia are eating roughly double this amount.
“Check the sodium content of any packaged foods you eat by looking at Nutritional Information Panel,” says Nicole. “Ideally, a food should contain less than 120 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams. Plus, always look out for ‘no added salt varieties of packaged and canned foods and try using natural flavourings, like herbs, spices and citrus juice, instead of salt in cooking.”
Can what I eat affect symptoms like hot flushes?
There are certain foods that can trigger or worsen symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats, and mood issues during menopause.
“Both caffeine and alcohol can make hot flushes worse and can also disrupt sleep,” says Nicole.
So as well as avoiding alcohol, try to limit your intake of caffeine from drinks like coffee, tea and colas. “Or,” says Nicole, “choose decaffeinated drinks if you’re really sensitive to caffeine’s stimulatory effects.”
Spicy foods can also trigger a hot flush and Nicole says it’s worth swapping higher-GI carbohydrates for lower-GI ones, too. “Low-GI carbohydrates, such as grainy bread, brown rice and oats, that are slowly digested help lower blood sugar levels which can reduce the severity of hot flushes.”
Evidence suggests that weight gain increases the severity of hot flushes so maintaining a healthy weight might also be helpful.
What else can I do to encourage an easier transition through menopause?
Nicole says being physically active regularly also plays a key role. Regular physical activity can help counteract the symptoms of menopause by boosting mood, improving sleep quality, reducing joint pain and supporting muscle mass. “Choose a well-rounded physical activity program that includes a balance of exercises including cardio, strength training and flexibility or stretching exercises.”
Official guidelines recommend accumulating at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each week and including muscle-strengthening activities as part of this activity at least two days a week.
“This could be using hand weights, weight machines or even your own body weight,” says Nicole. “In addition to eating sufficient protein, strength training is vital to minimise the muscle loss that comes with age and decreasing oestrogen levels, and to keep your metabolism firing.”
