Don't Make Menopause an Excuse for Being Fat

As women approach menopause, weight gain is one issue that becomes a primary concern for many. If you've had a weight problem before, you may find it harder to lose the additional weight. If you've been able to maintain your weight over the years, you many now find you have to work much harder to keep the pounds off. Therefore, menopause and nutrition go hand in hand, so don't make menopause an excuse for being overweight.

While there are some experts who claim that the fluctuation in a woman’s hormone level is the cause for weight gain, others believe it is due to an increase in age and the decrease in muscle mass and metabolism. Who can really say? The key to keeping the weight off, in any stage of a woman’s life, is through a combination of diet and exercise; and should commence during the perimenopausal stage.

It is important to consume foods low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol and it is also recommended that the fat intake should be less than 30 percent of your daily calorie intake. Eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grain cereal products, especially those high in vitamin C and beta carotene. Persons of all ages should consume 20 to 30 grams of fiber daily. Avoid foods and drinks with processed sugar, as many of these products contain empty calories and promote weight gain. Avoid salt-cured foods, which would eliminate pork from your diet. That means giving up ham, bacon, hot dogs, etc. These foods are high in sodium, which can lead to high blood pressure, which is a serious risk for aging women. White bread is also another no-no as it contains starch, which provides no nutritional value.

Regular exercise not only benefits the heart and bones and helps regulate weight, but can elevate one’s mood and create a sense of balance within. Conversely, women who are physically inactive are more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

While dieting and good nutrition habits are important when we are young, it has become a vital component of good health when we reach menopause. Although it may seem the cycle never ends, maintaining a proper diet is necessary to enjoy this particular time in your life. If you have never had the desire to exercise before, now would be a good time to begin. If you incorporate a healthy diet and exercise into your daily life, there should never be a reason to blame menopause as an excuse for being fat.


Beverly Mahone is the author of "Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age." She recently appeared as a baby boomer expert on MSNBC-TV.

Breaking the Silence: It's not our Mother's Menopause

We drive the ones we love away from us because we are unwilling to share what’s going on with us mentally and physically. Why can’t we tell them when we hurt? Not in an angry tone but in a loving, “do you understand, please help me” tone?”

Some degree of menopause anxiety is to be expected given the dramatic changes a woman goes through during this significant life event. But for some women the symptoms are so severe that they affect their daily activities and relationships.

If you are beginning perimenopause or if you are actually going through menopause and dealing with an anxiety problem, there are things you can do to make menopause anxiety symptoms less troublesome.

Talk to your doctor about the menopause anxiety treatment methods that are best for you. Remember that you do not have to allow menopause anxiety to turn your life upside down. Get some professional advice and discover the joy of being yourself again.

Talk to your spouse and help him understand what is going on with your body as well as the emotional mood swings you experience. He can't help you if he doesn't know what's going on.

Remember, this is not our mother's menopause. There's no need to be silent anymore."

Dancing with Towels on our Heads

The other day I was driving home after picking up my daughter from her school bus stop and all of a sudden an "oldie but goodie" came on the radio.

"Ooh, baby, baby
Where did our love go?
Ooh, don't you want me
Don't you want me no more…"

If you're a baby boomer you know the song made famous by the Supremes. Immediately the song took me back to my childhood and the days when my next door neighbors and I would imitate Diana, Mary and Flo in the middle of our street. Of course, I was always Diana because I was the oldest and just knew I could sing and Loretta and Lynetta were my background vocals.

I don't know if this is an ethnic thing or not, but when we did our thing we had to have towels on our heads. That was to simulate our long flowing hair because you had to have long flowing hair as a singer. Our hair was always in braids and we wouldn't dare take those braids loose for fear of the pain of having them re-braided and the pain we would feel on our behinds for doing something we weren't supposed to.

As I continued to drive, I turned up the radio a little louder (the very thing I tell my daughter NOT to do) and I wailed my heart out—remembering a time and place where it was so much fun to be a little girl who dreamed of being a "Supreme."

I would imagine many little girls got together and imitated The Supremes.