April 05, 2024

Weight Gain in Midlife - Part 1

20 minutes

At a point in a woman's life when balance seems like it should come effortlessly, menopause introduces complexities that can tip the scales. Dr. Polly Watson tackles the common issue of weight gain during menopause—a concern for many, despite their best efforts at maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Polly explains the hormonal upheavals that lead to increased insulin resistance. This shift predisposes the body to store glucose as fat, especially around the abdomen. It is further exacerbated by factors such as sleep disruption and stress, making the weight management journey more challenging.

Highlighting the importance of muscle mass in energy expenditure, Dr. Polly advocates for a combination of adequate protein intake and resistance training. She delves into the complexities of maintaining metabolic rate during menopause, emphasizing that the focus should extend beyond achieving a specific physique to fostering a body that’s strong and resilient.

In part two of the discussion, Dr. Polly will delve into the many pieces of weight management advice found on social media and various media outlets. She aims to provide a discerning look at common weight loss recommendations, evaluating their potential benefits and pitfalls to guide listeners toward a personalized approach to maintaining their health.

Quotes

"We're living in a culture that promotes thinness as health, which is actually not often accurate. Our goal should be metabolic health. So what does that mean? Metabolic health means that your body has normal blood pressure, normal triglycerides, normal lipids, normal blood sugar, and your waist circumference is less than 34.6 inches in women. So when I'm thinking about health promoting behaviors at midlife and menopausal transition, I'm thinking about resolving insulin resistance, maintenance and promotion of lean muscle mass, quality sleep, diverse exercise with an emphasis on lifting heavy weights and doing the mobility work so we don't get injured, an anti-inflammatory diet, and fulfilling social connections." (04:46 | Dr. Polly Watson)

"Sleep disruption is another huge reason why midlife women are gaining weight. And we see sleep disruption affect weight at a lot of moments in the reproductive life cycle." (08:19 | Dr. Polly Watson)

"Women who are having hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disruption, and who are getting less than six hours of sleep a night have a much more difficult time losing weight than women who are getting adequate restorative sleep." (08:56 | Dr. Polly Watson)

"As we age, we are losing muscle mass each year. And as our lean muscle mass goes down, our metabolic rate goes down because muscle burns more energy than fat. So this is one thing that makes me so crazy is that a lot of times I see women restricting, restricting, restricting, and they're not eating enough protein. And so they're really promoting loss of lean muscle, which if they do lose weight on that very restrictive plan, they're gonna end that plan less metabolically healthy than they started. And they're more likely to gain all the weight back and then some because they have less muscle mass than when they started." (13:41 | Dr. Polly Watson)

"Understanding some of the hormonal effects that affect our whole body will really help give you the tools to feel like you have a little bit more control over what's going on with your health." (18:53 | Dr. Polly Watson)

Links

Connect with Dr. Polly Watson:

Website: https://hormonewellnessmd.com/podcast

Resources: https://hormonewellnessmd.com/podcast-resources

Disclaimer: https://hormonewellnessmd.com/podcast#Disclaimer

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By Dr. Polly Watson

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