In addition to experiencing hot flashes and mood swings, women heading into menopause often gain weight, particularly around their midsections. According to the Mayo Clinic, the primary cause of the weight gain is lifestyle changes. As you age, you tend to be less active and exercise less. While hormones play a minor role in the weight development, genetics really have more influence. If your mother gained weight as she reached menopause, there's a good chance that you will, too.
Attention
As women age, they tend to lose interest in maintaining a svelte figure and don't pay as close attention to their diets and physical activity levels. In addition to reduced activity levels, your metabolism slows as you reach age 50 as well, making it more important than ever to pay attention to what you eat. The Mayo Clinic recommends reducing your normal caloric intake by about 200 calories per day just to maintain your current weight. You'll have to reduce calorie consumption even more to lose excess weight.
Move More
Aerobic exercise is the most effective way to increase the number of calories you burn. Increasing the heart rate for sustained periods of time while jogging, riding an elliptical trainer or taking dance aerobics classes can burn as many as 500 or 600 calories an hour. In addition to helping you lose weight, aerobic exercise can alleviate other menopausal side effects. You can elevate your mood and beat the doldrums that affect many women going through the change. Additionally, by participating in high-impact aerobic exercise, you increase your bone density, since bone loss is another side effect of aging.
Strengthening
Weightlifting is not just for bodybuilders. Lifting free weights, working out on resistance cable pulley machines or incorporating resistance bands in your weekly sessions builds muscles that help you stay toned. Muscles burn more calories than fat, so the more lean muscles you have, the more calories you burn, even when you're resting. In addition to resistance equipment, you can use your body weight to build lean muscle and lose more weight. Pushups, pullups, situps, lunges and squats are effective muscle building exercises to include in your weight loss routine.
Hormonal Shifts
Alternative medicine practitioners often tout the benefits of hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, to postmenopausal women to balance the hormones that may play a role in your weight gain. To lose weight, say researchers at Body Logic MD, you have to bring your estrogen, cortisol, testosterone and progesterone back into balance. Not all mainstream physicians agree, however, and most tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to supplements. After taking HRT for years, postmenopausal women often develop distressing side effects that alter perceptions about the treatment, particularly when used for weight loss. Short term, the therapy may help relieve menopause symptoms and help you lose weight, but over time, the risk of side effects increase. According to the Mayo Clinic, side effects include increased risks of developing breast cancer, stroke, heart disease and blood clots.
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