How to lose your menopause belly

HEALTH RISKS OF BELLY FAT This type of fat in the abdomen is toxic. “It produces hormones such as the stress hormone cortisol, as well as inflammatory proteins known as cytokines,” explains

Pamela Peeke, M.D., assistant professor of family and community medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and author of _The Hunger Fix: The Three-Stage Detox and Recovery

Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction_. These chemicals force your body to churn out more insulin, which not only ramps up appetite but also increases the storage of fat in fat cells. This,

in turn, causes you to put on even more belly weight and sets you up to develop insulin resistance, a factor in the development of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Belly fat is associated

with a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease, Faubion says. A study released in 2019 showed that having belly fat, even when women’s overall weight was within a normal range, put them

at a higher risk for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. “We call that ‘normal weight’ obesity because they have belly fat but they’re still in the normal BMI [body

mass index] range,” Faubion says. “[The study] reinforced that carrying belly fat, even if you’re not overweight or obese, is a risk for heart disease.” HOW DO I GET RID OF MY MENOPAUSE

BELLY?  Sounds daunting, but there are proven ways to reverse your scale’s, and your waistline’s, upward spiral. Here’s how: EXERCISES FOR MENOPAUSE BELLY Unfortunately, you can’t solely

exercise your way out of the weight gain at midlife because we don’t typically lose weight through physical activity alone, Faubion says. However, it can help you avoid additional gain and

maintain your weight. Dietary changes will likely be needed to ensure weight loss during and after menopause. Exercise has numerous other health benefits, including increasing your muscle

mass, balance and stamina, which are incredibly important to our health as we age. CRANK UP YOUR WORKOUT. If you’re sedentary, starting an exercise program could help not only with weight

maintenance but also relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, according to another study published in _Menopause_. If you’re already active, you’ll need to push things up a notch.

One way to do this is through a short duration of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), in which you alternate brief periods of intense physical activity with more relaxed recovery

periods. Obese postmenopausal women who did 10 minutes of HIIT five times a week lost twice as much weight as those who did more traditional endurance exercises, such as brisk walking,

according to a University of Scranton study. “This doesn’t have to be a lot — it can just be tweaking your morning walk to throw in some hills,” Peeke says. ADD RESISTANCE TRAINING. “In

order to remove weight as you get older, you have to lift weights,” stresses Peeke, who notes it’s key to reversing the metabolism-wrecking muscle loss that occurs naturally with age. A 2016

study of postmenopausal women in their late 50s and 60s found that those who did an hour of strength training twice a week for eight weeks not only significantly reduced their body fat

compared with a control group, they also reported less physical pain and felt better overall. If you’re resistant to pumping iron, consider yoga. It has the same kind of weight-bearing

benefits, and a 2017 German review that looked at 13 studies concluded that yoga helps relieve menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes. WHAT SHOULD I EAT TO LOSE BELLY FAT DURING

MENOPAUSE?  There’s no “menopause diet” despite numerous advertisements to the contrary, Faubion says. “Women need to really be careful about simple carbohydrates.” Watch your consumption of

bread, rice, pasta and alcohol. “Try to really focus on fruits, vegetables and lean proteins,” Faubion says. She also recommends sticking with healthy fats from olive oil, avocados and

nuts, and avoiding animal-derived fats. In a study of 17,000 postmenopausal women ages 50 to 79, researchers found that those who followed a low-fat diet that included five servings of

fruits and veggies and six servings of whole grains were three times more likely to lose weight than those in a control group.  DIET TIPS TO LOSE BELLY FAT DURING MENOPAUSE  STOP EATING

AFTER 7 P.M. “I generally recommend that my patients only eat during a 12-hour window each day — for example, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and then put the kitchen on lockdown after that,” Peeke

says. “They’ll get some of the health benefits of intermittent fasting without the hassle or excessive hunger.” GET ENOUGH SHUT-EYE. Not catching enough zzz’s doesn’t just feel awful, it

leads to weight gain. One study showed that women who slept less than five hours a night had a 30 percent higher risk of gaining 30 pounds over a 16-year period, compared with those who got

a full seven hours. “Lack of sleep causes your hunger hormones to go haywire: It lowers the levels of leptin, which suppresses appetite, and increases ghrelin, which stimulates your

appetite,” Peeke says. If getting the rest you need is made challenging by, say, menopausal hot flashes, one option to consider is a short course of cognitive behavior therapy, a type of

counseling in which you’re taught behavioral techniques to help promote sleep. Menopausal and postmenopausal women who used this technique showed a significant reduction of insomnia two to

three months later, according to a study published in the medical journal _Sleep_. WILL TAKING ESTROGEN REDUCE BELLY FAT?  Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) will help to control the

deposition of fat to your midsection, Faubion says, but it’s not a weight loss drug. Estrogen influences fat metabolism in the abdomen through an effect on the enzyme lipoprotein lipase,

but as Faubion explains, HRT isn’t used for this purpose. Taking estrogen will not lead to a change on the scale either up or down. You may get added weight management benefits if you’re on

hormones for other reasons, but it’s not recommended to take HRT for weight loss. WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS AND MENOPAUSE  New weight loss drugs are gaining in popularity, particularly GLP-1

medications, which slow digestion and tell your brain you’re full. Faubion says these drugs may also help menopausal women manage hot flashes, but studies are needed. The Women’s Health

Initiative observational study showed that women who lost weight had fewer hot flashes, but the theory needs to be studied further for these newer drugs.  _Editor’s note: This story,

originally published July 30, 2018, has been updated to include new information._