'Oh bother..what to do' said Pooh

I really don't want to talk about weight in January - I think it's possibly the worst time to start talking about a subject that most people find painful and I am not keen on fad diets...so lets get the pain over. My last post talked about weight gain in perimenopause and some of the reasons behind it...obviously there can be more especially your emotional relationship with food but that's a whole separate blog. 
Yes it's hard to shift weight as we get older but please don't let that make you think you can't - you certainly can it just takes a different approach and tweaking what may have worked for you in the past.

So what to do:

• Reduce alcohol consumption - it really is not friend at this stage and it can also lower your body's ability to absorb much need calcium.
• Reduce caffeine - I have written on this in the past and again it's not your friend when drunk in excess especially if you suffer anxiety. Also remember it impacts calcium and also speeds up your heart rate which increase blood pressure.
• Cut back on salt - gain calcium here and losing calcium can speed bone loss.
• Calcium & Vitamin D - make sure you have a good daily supply of both, vitamin D helps you adsorb calcium and as you will know if you have read other posts Vitamin D is crucial for the nervous system too.
• Phytoestrogens - load these into your diet ! 
• Adopt a daily exercise habit - whatever you like, whatever works for you, just start doing it ...little and often and try to build to 30 minutes a day. As you get a routine going look at weight bearing exercises as this is great for your body.

And remember there are always a few what not to do's:

• Don't depress yourself by trying fad diets.. it's my personal opinion but I just think they put more pressure on you and bottom line eating well and exercising are the key habits to encourage. You want long term sustainable change not a quick fix that will rebound in another few months. Also most fad diets wreck havoc on your blood sugar levels which is a recipe for disaster in menopause !
• Cut out sugar where you can - your liver hates sugar and so does your immune system
• Look at your meat consumption and try add more vegetables where you can.

Watching your weight is no easy task but I think once you understand what is going on at perimenopause and what is happening at a biological level it helps us to realize that what worked before will not work now. We need to change the pattern if we want to maintain a good weight and keep a healthy active lifestyle through menopause and into our later years.