Many women note weight gain during midlife, menopause transition and postmenopausal years. A woman’s metabolism slows down as she ages. In fact, 60 percent of women age 40-59 are overweight and 73 percent of women age 60 and over are overweight. The average amount of weight gained during the transition from pre- to post-menopause is five pounds. It is felt that weight gain is more likely due to aging and lifestyle than purely because of menopause.

Sleep deprivation (less than 7 hours a night) is also strongly correlated with weight gain. Weight gain results in more fat deposits centrally which causes less lean body weight. This results in increased blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other health-related problems. Fortunately, there are many things that can be done in a real, concrete way to improve healthy weight loss. A daily calorie decrease of around 400 to 600 calories as well as weight lifting twice weekly to increase muscle mass and baseline metabolism (and bone mass) are both critical.

Eating oily fish twice a week is recommended as is a low sodium diet of no more than 2.3 grams or 2300mg per day. A healthy weight loss goal is about 10 percent weight loss over 6 to 12 months. While there are many FDA-approved weight loss medications for women who meet certain criteria as well as weight loss surgery, there is also an opportunity for intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) through our dietitian program which is covered by Medicare.

The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association have the following list of physical activity for postmenopausal women:

1. Aerobic activity: at least 30 minutes/day for 5 days/week of moderate intensity activity ( 5-6 on a 10 point scale), OR 20 minutes/day for 3 days/week of intense activity (defined as 7-8 on a 10 point scale.
2. Muscle -strengthening activity: resistance exercise of the major muscle group AT LEAST 2 nonconsecutive days/week.  This should include 10-15 repetitions of 8-10 exercises. 
3. Flexibility: exercise to increase flexibility at least 2 days/week for at least 10 minutes each day.
4. Balance exercises

Finding an approach that fits your lifestyle is the goal and we are here to help.