Diet Low Carbs

By Evelyn Tribole, R.D. from Lifetimetv.com

We women are like fine wines: We just get better with age. Save for one little detail: our weight — which seems fated to skyrocket once we hit that developmental milestone menopause. According to the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, obesity in women has nearly doubled in the last two decades; it is a problem that researchers say is particularly acute during perimenopause, the 3 to 10 year period preceding menopause. The Women’s Healthy Lifestyle Project, a five year study of 585 perimenopausal women funded by the National Institute of Health, found that women who don’t change their lifestyles gain an average of 5.2 pounds during that period.

But before you throw in the towel and submit to age-related weight gain, consider this: Understanding the new set of rules governing your body’s changes can provide you with concrete ways to manage your weight. Here’s what is happening: As you age, your body stops ovulating and produces less and less estrogen. Meanwhile, the hormone testosterone ( no, it’s not just in men ) remains at the same level. This increase in the estrogen to testosterone ratio triggers the expansion of our waistlines, since our fat distribution changes to be more like a man’s, shifting from our hips and buttocks to our waists. ( one bright note: Once this transition is completed, half of all women find that their thighs have actually decreased in size!)

As our waistline fills out, some weight gain is inevitable , although the amount can range from 2 to 20 pounds. However, another key finding of the Women’s Healthy Lifestyle Project was that women who engage in physical activity and adhere to a low-fat, reduced calorie diet are very likely to maintain their weight or lose weight. The bottom line: Your hormones don’t have to have the last word — you can keep off the weight.

9 Tactics for staying fit during menopause.

1. Pump some iron. Lean body mass, which acts as a calorie-burning machine, naturally decreases as you age. Lifting weights two to three times a week can help you maintain your muscle mass and keep your metabolism revved.
2.  Exercise your options. Your metabolism slows down 10 to 15 % during midlife, mainly due to decreased muscle mass, Aerobic, cardiovascular exercise is crucial to minimizing the weight gain and fat storage that would naturally result from this downshift. Walk, jog, bike, swim or do an aerobics tape for at least one hour a day most days of the week.
3. Eat right. Dieting — defined as traditional low-calorie plans, so-called fat-burning pills and fad diets, including Atkins can actually worsen midlife weight gain. That’s because dieting increases the level of enzymes that tell your body to store fat. To effectively manage your weight through food, craft a balanced diet of nutrient-rich foods and eat only when you are hungry.
4. Cut quantities. As we age, our bodies need fewer calories. If you downsize the amount you eat at each meal, but increase the number of meals you have each day, you’ll find that you have more energy and a more balanced mood. Aim to consume five to six small meals each day, eating no more than three fistfuls of food each time.
5. Seek satisfaction. With less estrogen in your body, it’s easier to overeat, since estrogen helps to trigger the feeling of being full. However eating high-satiety (aka Filling) foods, including those high in protein ( such as chicken, turkey, eggs, fish, beans, tofu, nuts) and those high in fiber ( such as whole grain cereals, dried beans, whole grain crackers, fruits, vegetables ), help you feel satisfied and stop you from overeating.
   
6. Love lunch. It’s a somewhat controversial  concept, but some experts recommend eating your biggest meal at lunch rather than dinner to control weight gain.
7. Limit alcohol. Since alcohol has been shown to increase abdominal weight gain, do not have more than one drink a day.
8. Relax! Periods of stress cause increased storage of fat around the abdomen — and years of stress can actually disrupt your fat cell’s ability to make estrogen, causing them to expand in an effort to compensate. The best thing you can do is not to get too worked up about impending weight gain ( or anything else!) and find ways to release stress — through exercise, meditation, journal-writing, therapy or conversations with friends.
9. Look on th ebright side! There is some good nres: Once you’ve completed the "change of life" your fat cells start to shrink and produce less fat. While you will never have the meteabolism you had when you were 20, your weight will get somewhat easier to mansge after perimenopause.