Yes, You Can Lose Weight During Menopause

The hormonal changes that drive menopause come with a variety of bothersome side effects, ranging from night sweats, hot flashes, and vaginal dryness to mood changes, low energy, and sleep difficulties. For many women, though, unexpected weight gain is the biggest concern.     

A slowing metabolism, easy weight gain, and difficulty losing weight are top complaints among middle-aged women who are approaching menopause as well as older women who’ve already gone through “the change.” 

Fortunately, menopause-related weight problems aren’t inevitable.  

Nawo K. Fiamo, ARNP, and our team at Fiamo Aesthetics know that with the right approach, successful weight management is possible at any age. Here, we discuss the combination of factors behind the midlife weight control issues many women face and explain what you can do about it.  

Why is it harder to lose weight as I age?

Weight management is an endless undertaking that’s shaped by everything from genetics and gender to lifestyle habits and behavioral patterns. It’s also an ever-evolving process, meaning successful weight control often means adjusting your approach as you get older. 

Why? The same influences that make weight gain so common with age are the same factors that make those extra midlife pounds so much harder to lose. Starting in your late 30s and continuing through your 40s, 50s, and beyond, weight control can be harder because of: 

• Age-related muscle mass decline
• Decreased metabolic efficiency 
• Increased abdominal fat storage 

For all aging adults, common midlife issues like increased stress, decreased physical activity, and sleep difficulties can contribute to weight management challenges — as can age-related hormonal changes. 

For women, the dwindling estrogen levels associated with menopause can exacerbate other age-related changes that are already underway. When estrogen levels are low, your body is more likely to store extra fat in your abdomen. 

Menopause-driven fatigue can also make it harder to stay active. 

Effective weight management is possible  

Taken altogether, these age-related changes can have a kind of domino effect that promotes faster weight gain as it simultaneously inhibits easy weight loss. Luckily, there’s a lot you can do to overcome these common midlife weight management obstacles.   

At Fiamo Aesthetics, our medical weight loss approach combines proven and sustainable strategies, manageable lifestyle modifications, and individualized support to help you reach your weight loss goals safely and efficiently. 

Our empowering, health-driven process helps you: 

Balance your calories

Many people don’t realize that their calorie needs decline with age. For example, a moderately active woman in her early 20s needs about 2,200 calories a day to maintain her weight, but by the time she reaches her 50s, she can maintain her weight with just 1,800 calories a day. 

Our team helps you define and understand your body’s baseline calorie needs, then creates a calorie-appropriate plan that promotes healthy weight loss.     

Get balanced nutrition

Balanced calories are only half of the dietary puzzle. The other half? Balanced nutrition. When you give your body the essential nutrients it needs to thrive, it’s much easier to burn fat more efficiently, build muscle, boost your metabolism, and improve your health. 

Your personalized nutrition plan includes:

• All the recommended vitamins and minerals
• Plenty of dietary fiber to fill you up without contributing calories
• Lean protein to help you build muscle and keep you feeling satiated
• Just the right amount of heart-healthy unsaturated fats

Build all-around fitness

Regular exercise, the other main component of effective weight management, isn’t just about burning calories. It helps you gain fitness as you lose extra pounds. 

After assessing your fitness level, we create a custom workout plan that meets you where you are and helps you advance safely to the next level within your personal parameters.

Cardio workouts like walking, biking, and swimming form the basis of your daily workout plan. To counteract the effects of aging and menopause, we incorporate strength training sessions twice a week to help you build lean muscle tissue so you can burn fat more efficiently and give your metabolism a long-lasting boost.

Regular stretching keeps your muscles and joints flexible.

Reach your weight goals

With the key components of your medical weight loss plan in place, we evaluate your need for supplemental support. To help your body burn calories and fat more efficiently from the start, we may recommend:

• Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to offset hormonal imbalances
• Vitamin B12 injections to boost your metabolism and reduce food cravings
• Infrared sauna sessions to promote efficient fat burning and relieve stress

Are you ready to reverse the middle-age spread and move toward a healthier, fitter body? We can help you reach your weight goals. Give us a call today, or use our online booking feature to schedule a consultation at Fiamo Aesthetics in Yakima, Washington, any time.