While menopause doesn’t necessarily cause weight gain, it is responsible for changes in body composition that leave many women dissatisfied with their body image.
Staci Hall struggled with these changes when she reached the age of 40, using every tool at her disposal to tackle them.
When women are young, weight gain tends to be concentrated around the body’s hips and thighs.
Over time, however, the weight builds around the body’s midsection, but this can be tackled if hormonal irregularities are dealt with.
Traci ditched common diets to deal with her menopausal weight gain
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As she hit her forties, Staci noticed that many common fad diets were no longer serving her, however.
“I literally tried everything on planet Earth to keep my weight in check, and it just started to pile on like crazy,” she said.
Fortunately, Staci managed to lose 2st 12lb soon after ditching intermittent fasting, high-intensity interval training, restrictive diets and negative thought patterns.
“Number one is fasting,” she said, claiming that the approach didn’t work for her because it was not sustainable.
“The second habit Staci ditched was HIIT workouts because they can cause large spikes in cortisol which have a detrimental effect on hormones.
“Thirdly, the slimmer stopped adhering to restrictive diets, particularly ones that limit the intake of carbohydrates.
“Number three is stop the diet, stop the restriction,” she shared. “If you are heavily restricting your diet, especially if you keep cutting out those carbohydrates, it is sabotaging you.
“It is messing with your metabolism, it is screwing things up. So ditch the diet and start to eat a bit more intuitively.”
Last but not least, Staci recommends ditching unhealthy thought patterns that could be holding you back.
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Eating intuitively is recommend during menopause
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“Everything the fitness industry and diet culture are teaching us to do is sabotaging our efforts to live in the healthiest body possible,” she shared.
WebMD suggests eating well, exercising and looking after mental wellbeing are key to minimising the side effects of menopause.
The health body stresses that weight loss is a long-term goal and should be approached in a manner that supports lasting results.
Instead of going on a diet, the biggest changes occur when individuals rethink their relationship with food and make healthy eating a priority.
