During the menopause or peri-menopause (pre or post-menopause), most women experience changes in sleep and mood, and face other effects such as hot flashes, heart palpitations, and gain weight. In fact, according to surveys, about half of women gain 10 or more pounds during this time in their lives. All of this is caused primarily by a drop in the hormone oestrogen, which can plummet by 50 to 90 percent, sometimes over a very short timeframe.
So why does weight gain happen?
Basically, the metabolic rate slows, lean body mass (including muscle) is lost, and more fat is stored around the waist. This last effect can change how the organs store and metabolise fat.
But have no fear, there are ways you can manage your weight. There are three key strategies that have been shown to work and are backed by science. These are: proper support, a low-calorie diet plan and hormone-replacement. Let’s look at how each can help:
Support
In one study, women’s health and metabolism experts established the effectiveness of doctor screening and lifestyle counselling, including behavioural modification and psychological support. In another study, researchers demonstrated the successful use of conversational questioning and support. In both studies, half of the participants on this technique showed a five percent or greater weight loss. Of course, The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan includes regular, one-to-one consultations, similar to those used in these studies…and typical weight loss is on our diet is far greater than five percent!
Low Calorie Diet Plans
This seems to be the best solution for weight loss in menopausal women. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, when 101 post-menopausal women were put on either a low-calorie, meal-replacement diet (using foods like weight loss shakes and bars), or a normal, calorie-restriction diet, the average weight loss on the meal- replacement diet was almost 2 ½ stone, almost twice the weight loss of the calorie-restricted diet group! They even lost proportionally less lean mass, meaning they lost a higher percentage of fat.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
This is definitely not medical advice, but it seems like the general agreement among experts is that they now believe HRT to be a safe and effective therapy for most women and can help with: hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, heart palpitations, headaches, bladder problems, joint aches, depression and may help with weight loss (contrary to some reports). So ask your doctor about HRT.
Menopause is not kind to many women and can have over a dozen unwanted effects, including weight gain. HRT can often remedy many of these effects but is likely to only have a small effect on weight loss, if any. Proper, one-to-one support and, particularly, low-calorie, meal-replacement diets have been shown to substantially reduce weight in women at this time in their lives and, of course, no diet does support or low-calorie, meal-replacement better than The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan.
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