Menopause: how to lose belly?
Written by: Loris Vitry (holistic coach)
Validated by: Cathy Maillot (Osteopath)
Caution: If you have any medical questions or concerns, please speak to your doctor. Even if the articles on this site are based on scientific studies, they do not replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Menaupose is a crucial stage in the life of a woman, marking the preludes of the fifties and the end of the menstrual cycle.
With the hormonal changes, a woman needs to keep up with her daily life despite the sudden changes that occur in her body.
Between hot flashes, stress, and for some, considerable weight gain, menopause requires a meticulous and careful lifestyle.
The effects of a weight gain are noticeable in several parts of the body, including the belly.
It is essential to follow a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and finally, remove carbonated and alcoholic drinks from consumption.
Eat healthy: fruits and vegetables every day
Menopause involves a sudden hormonal deficiency in women.
Indeed, progesterone and estrogen are the main hormones during the menstrual cycle, but in menopause, male hormones like testosterone are also more produced.
Weight gain is a consequence of this hormonal upheaval, and hat’s why the food diet has to be changed to avoid putting on weight.
Also, the decline in the production of certain hormones contributes to the accumulation of fat around the waist.
Other factors increase the risk of your tummy to grow, namely constipation or bloating due to the change in metabolism.
Fat has many dangers for a woman’s health as it can accumulate around the heart, causing cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, etc.
It is recommended to limit the abdomen circumference as it is a good predictor of good health or not.
So, food must be carefully monitored.
Losing the stomach during your menopausal period requires consuming fiber-based foods such as cereals, wholemeal bread, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, etc., but avoiding snacking between meals.
Foods rich in fiber reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and they constitute a vital caloric contribution for the body.
Also, suitable and fermented dairy products (yogurts, for example) promote protein intake, and they are beneficial against bloating and feelings of a full stomach.
Foods containing added sugar should also be banned from your diet.
Besides, stress can have a significant impact on the body and be the cause of snacking during menopause.
Manufactured foods (frozen, fried, etc.) are also to be avoided for a healthy diet rich in nutrients.
The consumption of salt must be controlled as it increases appetite, and therefore avoiding it helps to prevent snacking.
Menopause is a delicate period, and the slightest excess contributes to weight gain in the belly.
In short, during menopause, meals should be eaten at regular times, avoiding overfilling the stomach.
Exercice daily
Exercising is essential if you want to get back in shape.
The increase of fat in the body, due to menopause, impacts the health of women.
During menopause, women tend to eat more fatty and sugary foods; however, the metabolism being slower, the capacity of the body to eliminate fat and sugar is reduced.
Daily physical exercises are required to ensure keeping a flat stomach during menopause.
They help regulate and eliminate the calories accumulated during meals.
Sport acts not only on the body but also on stress.
It is therefore recommended to do abs regularly to sculpt the stomach and give it a new shape.
Daily physical exercises will give you a second youth.
In short, the idea is to find an activity that allows you to burn calories.
Fitness, gym, dance, are suitable for crushing the excessive fat, and you can either go to a gym or even use an online coaching app.
Online coaching apps are handy and designed by sports professionals.
These applications make it possible to evaluate the efforts during your sessions, track your weight loss, and help you reach your goals by continually adapting the exercise routine.
However, you should avoid drastically losing calories.
Walking and jogging can also be an excellent choice to achieve your goal.
Physical exercises should be done gradually to avoid losing more than 4 kg per month.
Delete carbonated and alcoholic drinks
Menopause causes a lot of pain in women.
Both weight and stress are caused by biological modifications linked to aging.
But fighting stress with alcohol would be worse than the short time relief it provides.
Indeed, you should not consume carbonated either alcoholic drinks as they contain sugar, salt, lipids, and others.
Losing belly requires changing the lifestyle you had before the menopause period.
It is, therefore, advisable to consume only certain drinks to lower the effects of weight gain.
You should try warm water, lemon juice, infusions, green tea, etc.
For water, for example, you should drink about two liters a day.
Just keep in mind that you need to hydrate the body healthily because hydration guarantees digestive flow that helps lose belly.
In short, menopause requires compliance with several new habits to avoid putting on weight.
Whether it’s to lose stomach, to fight stress, and to feel good about yourself, you should change your lifestyle and take measures from now on.
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