A Menopause Diet To Get You Through
Menopause brings with it a whole new set of problems, not the least of which is weight gain in unusual places. Finding the right menopause diet for you, however, is not going to be as difficult as it might sound.
In order to fight a good fight, you need to be well-armed. In the case of the “battle of the menopausal bulge”, being well-armed means understanding exactly what is going on inside your own body.
Since we’re talking about designing a good menopause diet for you, you need to understand what happens to fat storage before and after menopause. Before the “change” fat stores subcutaneously, that is, it stores under the skin level. When they accuse Santa of having a “bowl full of jelly” belly, they are referring to soft and jiggly fat that has been stored just under the skin level.
This is very different from the kind of fat that is stored after menopause begins. Visceral fat is stored underneath the abdominal wall, in amongst the organs. Have you ever brushed your hand along someone’s rounded belly and found it to be hard as rock? I’m not talking about rock-hard abs, here. I’m talking about a protruding belly on an overweight person. If that belly is hard, the fat is being stored under the abdominal wall. That is visceral fat.
After menopause begins, fat is stored viscerally, in amongst your internal organs. Finding that perfect menopause diet is going to be paramount for you, because visceral fat is a whole lot more dangerous for you than subcutaneous fat ever was. Visceral fat interferes with the body’s organs and their proper functioning. In fact, several very serious diseases are linked to visceral fat: Type II diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease, to name a few.
Time fore some good news: visceral fat actually responds better and faster to exercise and diet than subcutaneous fat does. A regular exercise routine, performed 6 days a week for at least 30 minutes a day is optimal. But if you are not at that level yet, just start where you can and work up. It’s okay. Everyone looking for the perfect menopause diet has to start somewhere.
It will be in your best interest to get your doctor to refer you to a nutritionist. You may already now how and what to eat, but with menopause, comes a whole new set of things to think about. A perfect menopause diet is going to take in your weight concerns, but also your aging concerns. Hormones and minerals and everything else needs to be taken into account, so, a visit or two with a nutritionist to help you design your perfect menopause diet is a good idea.
