The hormonal changes of menopause might make you more likely to gain weight around your abdomen than around your hips and thighs. But, hormonal changes alone don't necessarily cause menopause weight gain. Instead, the weight gain is usually related to aging, as well as lifestyle and genetic factors.
Start with a mix of moderate and vigorous exercise to burn off menopausal weight gain. Your routine should include aerobic exercises like swimming, walking, bicycling, and running, as well as resistance or strength training. “What you want to employ now is high-intensity interval training (HIIT),” Dr. Peeke says.
During perimenopause, your hormones are changing rapidly. That can lead to higher levels of estrogen. Estrogen causes your body to retain water, which can lead to bloating. Bloating isn't the only symptom experienced by women going through perimenopause and menopause.
Menopause weight gain often appears without any apparent behavior change. But it doesn't go away on its own. Instead, like any other weight loss, losing menopause weight requires you to expend more calories than you take in.
Menopause bloating leads to a swollen belly, and it causes your stomach to change in size during the day. It can cause discomfort, and many women experience menopause bloating when they eat large amounts of food or eat quickly. However, if you are experiencing weight gain, there will be no changes in your belly size.
It might be as simple as eating too much too fast, or you could have a food intolerance or other condition that causes gas and digestive contents to build up. Your menstrual cycle is another common cause of temporary bloating. Sometimes a bloated stomach can indicate a more serious medical condition.
Menopausal bloating
Your abdomen may shift and enlarge throughout the day, depending on what you've been eating. Water retention or gas retention can be the source of this type of bloating. This bloating is not weight gain, per se, and it might resemble bloating that you're used to from when you had your period.
A combination of diet and exercise may help symptoms. A person can perform exercises that burn fat, such as running, walking, and other aerobic activity. Reducing the calories a person consumes can also help. A person can learn more about how to reduce belly fat here.
Some causes may be related to stress, alcohol consumption, or medications. Other causes can be a result of health conditions like hypothyroidism or PCOS. Many causes of stomach swelling and weight gain can be treated with lifestyle changes and medications. However, others, such as ascites, can be serious.
On average, women gain 5-8% of their baseline body weight during this time,” she says. For the sake of simple math, this means if you weigh 100 pounds, on average you will gain five pounds in the two years after your final period. If you weigh 200 pounds, you are expected to gain at least 10 pounds.
Midsection weight gain (aka “meno belly”) in perimenopause and menopause is real – and frustrating. It often feels like this stubborn weight just isn't going anywhere, no matter how much you diet or exercise.
Because estrogen affects how your body distributes fat, low estrogen levels can contribute to gaining fat in your belly area. However, estrogen replacement therapy can help your body redistribute this fat to different areas on your body, rather than your abdominal area.
D2 and K2 are a powerful duo when taken as a supplement. Each of these vitamins is involved with balancing hormones, particularly those associated with weight management, and are viewed as safe vitamin supplements for people to take to support metabolic processes.
Hormonal belly in women can be targeted with hormone replacement therapy, including estrogen therapy or estrogen-progesterone/progestin hormone therapy (EPT. Research indicates that postmenopausal women on HRT have reduced levels of belly fat than those that aren't. Treatment for men or women can be either: patches.
Many people who experience endo belly say they “look pregnant,” even though they're not. Endo belly is just one symptom of endometriosis. Those who experience endo belly often have other gastrointestinal symptoms, such as: gas pain.
Functional reasons for a distended abdomen tend to involve digestive problems that cause gas and/or digestive contents to accumulate. Causes might include: Gas from functional indigestion, food intolerances or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Constipation causing a build-up of feces and back-up of digestive contents.
You could have a condition called Diastasis Recti Abdominus, or DRA. DRA is caused by an increase in abdominal pressure and occurs when the rectus abdominus, the abdominal muscle that runs down the center of your stomach, separates.
We tend to lose muscle mass, so our abdominal muscles aren't as tight as they once were, and the loss of elastin and collagen in our skin allows gravity to have its way so skin starts to sag. Both can cause the waistline to expand.
Temporary bloating is common and is usually not a cause for concern. However, if you have severe or persistent bloating—especially if other symptoms accompany it—you should let your healthcare provider know right away. It could signal something more serious.
Call your doctor if your abdomen is getting bigger, or if you have other symptoms that accompany the swelling, such as fever or nausea. Seek medical care if you have extreme diarrhea or blood in your stool. If you find that you're unable to eat or drink for more than eight hours, tell your doctor.