I wanted to share some thoughts from a conversation with my doctor (B. Minshew) who is an Acupuncturist and a Master in Oriental medicine, plus some further research I did on the subject.

Hopefully it will shed some light on the difficulty or impossibility many women at this stage of life have losing weight.





Use of the word estrogen in this article refers to all estrogen like hormones, or hormones that are converted to estrogen. Menopause refers to pre- and post-menopause.

This article is meant to be easy to understand. The hormonal processes mentioned are very complex systems. The processes are kept simple for ease of understanding.



-THE DIFFICULTY OF WEIGHT LOSS FOR MENOPAUSAL WOMEN-



Our western way of life with all its prosperity and abundance is unfortunately a high stress way of life. Woman today are put under many demands, family and home responsibility, career demands, lifestyle pressures and so on.

When our bodies are under stress our adrenal glands secrete cortisol and adrenaline producing the flight or flight response. As one goes through 40 or 50 years of life with the adrenals constantly “on” the adrenal glands suffer exhaustion or burnout, losing their ability to produce hormones. The adrenals also produce sex hormones; we’ll get to the importance of that in a moment.



As a woman reaches the end of her ability to bear children, generally around age 45 her estrogen production from the ovaries begins to decrease. However, the body still wants its estrogen so what does it do? It turns to a next important source of estrogen, the adrenal glands. For some women of the world this works out just fine, as is evidenced by the almost total lack of menopause symptoms in certain cultures.

What though about those that have greatly reduced adrenal function from a lifetime of stress? For those their body will look to another important source of estrogen, adipose tissue, also know as fat. Adipose tissue is a significant source of estrogen in post-menopausal women. This is evidenced by the fact that menopause tends to come earlier than average in lean women.

So imagine for a moment that you are a female body craving estrogen. Your main source (ovaries) is greatly reduced, your other source (adrenal glands) is hardly functioning from overuse, and your last significant source (adipose tissue) is all that you have left. How hard are you going to work to preserve your fat tissue? How about increase it? Are you going to allow that source of estrogen to reduce?

When the body of a menopausal woman is faced with a diet or caloric deficit it will do all it can to keep its all important source of estrogen. If it must lose something it will lose muscle, organ mass, or perhaps bone tissue. At all costs though it will work to retain its fat mass for estrogen production.

How does one treat this? Any reduction of adrenal stressors would make sense, as would anything that supported adrenal function.



Some adrenal stressors are:



·On-going stress

·Relationship problems

·Emotional stress

·Caffeine

·Overeating of sugar

·Smoking

·Abuse of drugs and alcohol

·Lack of sleep

·Toxins from an improper diet



A few supplements that support adrenal function:

·DHEA

·Pantothenic acid

·B-vitamins

·Vitamin-C + Bioflavonoids

·Licorice

·Maca root

·Ginsing



I think the final thought is this, in the end it can be very difficult perhaps impossible for a menopausal woman to lose weight. If one does lose weight they need to be careful that they are not destroying their health because of lean body mass loss, or bone loss. This is not meant to be depressing for them though. Your body is resistant because it wants to protect and take care of itself. Some believe in the natural ability of the body to take care of itself, and believe it is best to love and accept what they have. Perhaps that is a beneficial, healthy, and self respecting viewpoint.

Dr. B. Minshew recommends up to 32% body fat for menopausal women. He feels this is a good balance point between healthy weight and sufficient fat reserves to maintain estrogen production



As with almost all health information there are many differing opinions, as I am sure there will be on this subject. The hope is that this information will be a helpful addition for menopausal women having difficulty losing weight.







References:





1. A Natural Approach to Menopause



2. Aromatase activity of membrane fractions of human adipose tissue stromal cells and adipocytes

3. Aromatase in Aging Women

4. Endocrine System

5. Adrenal Treatment and Supplementation



Copyright 2004, Jamin Johnson. REPRINT OF THIS ARTICLE WITHOUT PERMISSION IS ILLEGAL

Thanks for the info....very interesting...explains a lot as to why I lose so slowly. And yes, when I am under the most stress I lose the slowest...

Thanks I hope it helps.

JJ

I am in perimenopause and thought I'd add these thoughts for those who also are in this BEFORE stage of menopause.
In perimenopause your body is producing TOO MUCH estrogen and this disrupts the thyroid production, thereby lowering your metabolism and rate of weight loss. I am currently having mine monitored and corrected with medicine, so it will have the effect of helping my weight loss as well. For those of you in my situation, I suggest that you AVOID soy products as much as possible because of the estrogen-like effect they have (which is a good thing once you are in menopause) will further hinder your thyroid function (which effects your energy levels as well.

Why do I feel like I am screwed every which way but lose?

"I think the final thought is this, in the end it can be very difficult perhaps impossible for a menopausal woman to lose weight. If one does lose weight they need to be careful that they are not destroying their health because of lean body mass loss, or bone loss."

Take heart, Ladies, it doesn't have to be that way. True, I gained weight at menopause, failed to take it off via low fat (what a disaster!), but LC was a different story. My body responded beautifully to the LC way of eating. The pounds rolled off and have stayed off. My muscle tone, aerobic fitness and bone density are excellent. I been exercising regularly for over 30 years so I know that is a major factor but I credit LC for my weight loss and energy. I do not believe that excess fat is an unavoidable part of growing older. Keep moving, keep eating right, drink tons of water, and develop passionate interests to keep your mind active. You'll be fine.

"Grandma Cindy"

Good for you Grandma Cindy!
I'm happy for you!

As you demonstrate it certainly is possible to lose FAT in the menopausal years.

Excellent work!

JJ