Perimenopause and Weight Gain

Inevitable?

What is there to say about perimenopausal weight gain ... except that it sucks. Even formerly thin women are not immune to the hormonal shifts that cause the scale to inch up. Small comfort to those who have spent a lifetime dieting and still remained overweight. But still, reassuring to know you are not alone. This, along with mood swings and hot flashes, is just about the most universal symptom noted by perimenopausal women. A 10 pound gain is average.

It may make you feel better to know that fat cells store estrogen, which may help relieve some of the other symptoms you experience. No? Me neither.

Against all odds, I was able to lose 55 pounds in 1997 when I was just beginning perimenopause, and have kept it off ever since (except for one brief 10 pound gain when on medication).

Before	After

So, why do we gain weight in perimenopause?

Well, no one is sure. But you can bet that hormonal changes, in addition to slowing metabolism and decreasing muscle tissue play a part. Not only that, but the weight seems to show up around our waist, instead of our hips or thighs, or our whole shape simply changes, so nothing fits, compounding the discomfort.

By the way, the jury is still out on whether HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) or the Pill makes you gain weight. Many women will swear that it puts 10 pounds on.

What can you do?

I'm sure you know already. Diet and exercise. No, not "Diet," but diet, as in a sane food plan that you can live with a day at a time for the rest of your life. Listen, cutting calories, if you started out thin, will do nothing to stop the inevitable, and may harm your health. You need a certain amount of fat on your body for good bone and heart health.

Note: If you are out of control with food, binging or purging, see the Other Resources page for support groups that will help.

Having struggled with weight, not only through perimenopause, but throughout my life, I think I've lost close to 1,000 pounds over the years. Even through perimenopause, I've been able to maintain my 60 pound weight loss.

Here are a few tips that will help:

• Cut out alcohol. It's nothing but refined carbohydrates and sugar. You might as well just eat a pizza and donut.
• Get rid of artificial sweeteners. Aside from the continuing anecdotal evidence that the stuff is bad for you in so many ways, fake sugar increases cravings. More importantly, it can cause bloating, which feels like instant weight gain.
• Salt is not your friend. You'll be retaining water and possibly increasing your blood pressure. But you need to start reading labels, because even puportedly healthy processed food often contains loads of salt.
• You don’t have to be perfect. There's a Japanese saying – “Nine Times Down, Ten Times Up.” If you don’t keep trying you will never achieve your goal. You don't have to do things perfectly to keep moving forward. That used to send me reeling backwards. If I made a mistake, wasn’t perfect, I’d use that as an excuse to beat myself up with my food plan and blow everything by eating. Few things go as planned. Especially during perimenopause when your body is pretty much in control (for instance, no period for four months, and suddenly BOOM! Which meant that there was about three weeks of PMS preceding it).

Other Resources