Menopause Monday | What if a bit of body fat is a "good" thing in menopause?

As estrogen and progesterone drop in the menopause transition, women can mysteriously gain weight and body fat. Women can be über frustrated by this. Their tried and true methods to lose weight in the past (generally upping the cardio exercise and cutting calories, often too low) no longer works.

I've talked about this before, and why weight training is so important as we age.

But is an increase of body fat during menopause all bad? Depends. 

Fat cells, the adipose tissue (AT) can actually be helpful, if in the right amounts, and where it decides to camp out on our bodies.

Believe it or not, adipose tissue is an active endocrine organ responsible for producing hormones, and it may help you preserve some estrogen.1

There are two type of body fat. Subcutaneous (just below the skin) and visceral (deep within the abdomen, around our organs). Subcutaneous fat is the fat we store if we put on a few pounds. In limited amounts this type of fat doesn't pose many health concerns. If we gain a lot of weight though, it can be stored as visceral fat, which is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Obesity during menopause can also make menopausal symptoms worse. 

So my point is, maybe we don't need to fret so much over a little bit of weight gain. If we are doing all the things that can help us stay healthy through and after menopause, the bit of weight gain we can't seem to budge, might not be as bad as we think. 

Waist to Hip Ratio Test
With all the talk about meno-belly, here is a little test you can do that might give you a boost of encouragement.

1. Check your waist to hip ratio. Ideally in your undies, with a non-stretchy tape measurer, measure your waist at the narrowest point.
2. Measure your hips around the largest part of your bum and across your pubic bone.
3. Divide the WAIST number by the HIP number.
4. ​Then check the ratio number below. 

What did you discover? Kind of interesting, IMO. Now you are equipped with more knowledge, plus another way to measure any changes in your body if you decide to make lifestyle changes, such as reducing or eliminating alcohol, starting/increasing a weight training program, better sleep hygiene, balancing your macronutrients, and reducing stress. 

Reclaim Your Power • Redefine Your Prime
Speaking of which, check out the latest courses I have to help you out. If you are brand new to working out, or it's been awhile, I suggest you start with the Menopause Kickstarter Course. If you are already active, then check out my Learn to Lift for Life Course. Both can help you on your journey to getting stronger, developing healthy routines and thriving in your next chapter of life! 

As always, thank you for reading! If you enjoy what you read, please let me know in the comments below. Nothing worse than talking into the internet void. ;-)

cheerio,
Kristin

1 Menopocalypse, How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too, Amanda Thebe. That's just one expert I've learned this information from, including my own nurse practitioner. :-)