The Menopause Diet 5 Day Plan To Lose Weight During menopause, many women reluctantly gain some weight. This can be frustrating, especially for people who are already trying their best to lose weight or otherwise maintain a healthy weight. These days, people are turning to meal plans to lose weight. For those who have decided that they are effective for weight loss, there are menopause diet plans to help with weight loss during this time. Today we will take a look at Menopause Diet 5 Day Plan for Weight Loss. We’ll also look at other ways to lose weight safely during menopause. Let’s get started!
What is menopause?
The Menopause Diet 5 Day Plan To Lose Weight There are many definitions of menopause depending on the woman you ask. Most people define and think of menopause as the phase after their last menstrual period. However, according to WebMD, the time until your last menstrual cycle is perimenopause and can last up to four years
After menopause, your body makes less estrogen and less progesterone, however, during perimenopause, estrogen and progesterone levels vary significantly.
Menopause is characterized by difficulty sleeping, irregular menstruation, and hot flashes. Around this time you may notice that your weight is increasing slightly. To better understand the best diet for menopause, let’s first look at the relationship between menopause and weight gain.
The relationship between menopause and weight gain
Before menopause, you may mainly associate weight gain with lack of physical activity, inadequate sleep or unhealthy eating habits. This does not mean that these are not causes of weight gain during menopause. They definitely are.
However, after reaching menopause, you realize that despite exercising and eating right, your weight is increasing more than normal. During the menopause stage, you experience hormonal changes that affect your weight in many ways.
First of all, hormonal changes cause changes in weight distribution (3). You may find that you have more fat stored around areas like your stomach, arms and thighs. This weight distribution can also make it difficult to lose weight.
Similarly, infection causes your body to release less amount of estrogen. When estrogen levels drop, you tend to store fat, especially in your belly, creating visceral or belly fat as most people know it.
Even after menopause, gaining weight can be harmful as it increases your risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. With this in mind, talk to your doctor about an effective strategy for controlling weight.
How to avoid weight gain during menopause
There are several recommendations for women who need to prevent weight gain during menopause. Although these methods are effective, you are urged to talk to your doctor before trying any of them. These methods include:
- good nutrition
Most individuals who want to lose weight are advised to work with a weight loss diet plan. However, weight loss plans during menopause may vary. This is because the needs of your body are different during this period.
Despite these needs, food experts remind you to eat a healthy and balanced diet. They recommend adding whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, nuts, low-fat dairy products, healthy fats and lean meats. However, this is easier said than done for many women.
With extreme fatigue and poor sleep patterns, the last thing such a woman wants to do is spend time preparing healthy meals. Some people want to stop the increase of hunger by eating the first food they get.
Such an approach compromises your weight loss efforts because, in most cases, the first comfort food many women choose is sugary or junk food.
Foods to avoid
To help avoid unnecessary weight gain during menopause, food experts suggest you stay away from the following:
- Sweet food. Although they satisfy your sweet tooth, they also increase your risk of high blood sugar and tooth-related problems. Additionally, they often eat around 300 calories a day and will likely increase your calorie count. Some sources of these sugary foods include soft drinks, baked products, sugar-sweetened beverages, etc.
- Liquor. Alcoholic beverages are also high in calories and can add extra calories to your diet. Many people also start eating more high-calorie foods while drinking alcohol. As a result, you run the risk of gaining unwanted weight.
- Salty foods. Sodium or salt is another contributor to unwanted weight gain. Excess salt causes your body to retain water, leading to water weight. Similarly, salty foods make it easier to overeat, which means you eat more and are more likely to overeat.
A healthy diet worth trying
To help you stay away from these foods or at least limit them, food experts recommend working with a menopause diet plan. Although there is no specific diet for menopause, many food experts recommend following a Mediterranean diet during this time.
The Mediterranean diet focuses primarily on the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It limits the amount of dairy products and meat a person can eat. According to Medical News Today, you should eat the following foods when following the Mediterranean diet:
- An abundance and variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
- healthy fats, whether they’re from nuts, seeds, or fruits like avocado and olive oil
- Limited amounts of dairy products and fish
- very little red and white meat
some eggs - limited amount of alcohol
Foods you should limit or avoid when following the Mediterranean diet plan include:
- canned or processed foods
- Pizza dough made from refined grains such as white pasta, white bread, or white flour
- Refined oils like canola and soybean oil
- processed meats such as hotdogs
Menopause Diet 5 Day Plan to Lose Weight
As mentioned earlier, it’s easier to lose weight when you work with a meal plan. While designing such a meal plan, an important aspect that you need to consider is the recommended and discouraged foods. Stick to what is recommended and avoid what is not.
Even with so much insight, developing a meal plan is still an easy task for some women. If this is the case, don’t hesitate to ask for help from your nutritionist. Here’s an example of a 5-day Mediterranean diet plan:
Day 1
- Breakfast: Two servings of spinach, onion, mushroom and capsicum, egg white omelette and two apples (Calories – 491, Carbs – 64 grams, Fat – 2 grams, Protein – 58 grams)
- Lunch: One serving of chicken and avocado salad and one serving of carrots with hummus (Calories – 578, Carbs – 34 g, Fat – 33 g, Protein – 42 g)
- Dinner: Two servings of zucchini pasta in lemon cream sauce and one serving of fried broccoli (Calories- 632, Carbs- 40 grams, Fat- 49 grams, Protein- 19 grams)
- Total Calories: 1701
Day 2
- Breakfast: two egg whites and mushroom omelette and four easy-to-peel boiled eggs (calories – 572, carbohydrates – 11 g, fat – 31 g, protein – 60 g)
- Lunch: A raspberry coconut smoothie (calories – 531, carbohydrates – 88 grams, fat – 22 grams, protein – 5 grams)
- Dinner: Two servings of Palak Paneer Pasta and two servings of Grilled Zucchini Spears (Calories- 597, Carbs- 38 grams, Fat- 41 grams, Protein- 26 grams)
- Total Calories: 1700
Day 3
- Breakfast: One serving of oatmeal with mango and roasted coconut and two easy-to-peel boiled eggs (calories – 517, carbohydrates – 65 g, fat – 22 g, protein – 22 g)
- Lunch: Two servings of fruit and vegetable platter with almonds and cottage cheese (Calories- 541, Carbs- 53 grams, Fat- 29 grams, Protein- 26 grams)
- Dinner: Two servings of Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Calories- 647, Carbs- 8 grams, Fat- 36 grams, Protein- 69 grams)
- Total Calories: 1705
Day 4
- Breakfast: Two servings of High Protein Energy Balls and one orange (Calories- 460, Carbs- 63 grams, Fat- 20 grams, Protein- 15 grams)
- Lunch: One serving of tuna-stuffed tomatoes and a lemon avocado salad (Calories- 605, Carbs- 34 grams, Fat- 34 grams, Protein- 50 grams)
- Dinner: One serving of fried salmon with balsamic glaze and two servings of steamed broccoli (calories – 644, carbs – 30 grams, fat – 35 grams, protein – 55 grams)
- Total Calories: 1709
Day 5
- Breakfast: Two servings of Greek yogurt and fruit salad (Calories- 528, Carbs- 65 grams, Fat- 20 grams, Protein- 32 grams)
- Lunch: Two servings of Pinto Bean Salad (Calories- 555, Carbs- 71 grams, Fat- 27 grams, Protein- 16 grams)
- Dinner: Two servings of Ground Turkey, Bean and Walnut Stir-Fry (Calories- 626, Carbs- 18 grams, Fat- 39 grams, Protein- 56 grams)
- Total Calories: 1710
In addition to weight loss, following a Mediterranean diet like this may also improve sleep quality in older adults. Remember that poor sleep quality is linked to menopause. Additionally, the diet may also reduce the risk of heart disease and improve your overall health.
Menopause Weight Loss Tips
- Exercise
Another method that can help you deal with menopause-related weight gain is exercise. If losing weight during menopause is one of your fitness goals then you need to walk more. Remember that your muscle mass decreases as you age. Muscle loss is reduced due to inefficient burning of calories. So, if you want to burn more calories, focus on exercises that help you gain muscle.
However, you should consult your doctor first about the idea of adding muscle-building exercise programs to your workout plan. Some exercises use body weight, and some require equipment or machines.
Learn about proper exercises to lose menopausal belly fat (hint – to lose fat in a specific area, you have to lose fat overall). And again, remember that you have to be consistent if you want efficient results.
Fitness experts recommend you get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week. If the exercise is vigorous, you can reduce your time period to 75 minutes per week. However, if you are doing strength training workouts, experts recommend doing such routines at least twice a week.
Remember not to overdo your exercises, as this has been linked to more serious complications. For example, you risk injuring yourself because you never give your muscles and body time to rest and recover. Working with an instructor can help you learn proper form and customize routines to avoid injury.
Getting Enough Rest
Lack of adequate sleep can also lead to weight gain during menopause. According to WebMD, menopause causes poor sleep quality, which puts a strain on your body. Additionally, when you don’t get enough sleep, your body releases the hormone cortisol, which increases your appetite.
Note that you tend to overeat or snack more when you sleep less or not at all. These behaviors increase your calorie intake, which promotes weight gain. Therefore, try to get adequate and quality sleep.
Some techniques can help you sleep well through the night. One of them is to reduce screen time a few hours before going to bed. Secondly, WebMD suggests creating a sleep-friendly environment.
In such an environment there are no distractions like noise or excessive light. Another technique you can try to help you get better sleep is meditation. Meditation will calm you down and help you sleep soundly throughout the night. You can start with a guided meditation and then try other solo meditation practices as you progress.
Reducing your stress levels
The transition to menopause can be stressful for some people. Change is stressful, and remember that some symptoms of menopause are extreme irritability and fatigue. If you allow these to control you, you may cause tension in some relationships due to excessive irritability, which definitely increases stress. But, again, high stress levels can lead to emotional eating. The production of cortisol causes this.
Cortisol lowers your blood sugar levels and increases your cravings for salty and fatty foods. These foods contain high amounts of calories. Therefore, eating these foods in excess leads to calorie surplus which promotes weight gain.
We all struggle with stress, and the most important thing is to get a handle on it before it gets worse. To avoid weight gain induced by high stress levels, you are advised to manage your stress levels. Techniques you can implement to help reduce stress include meditating, doing yoga, exercising, dancing, listening to music, or doing your leisure activity.
Although it is difficult, it is possible to lose weight during menopause. The best way to achieve this goal is diet. You can create an effective Mediterranean diet plan to help you lose weight during menopause. Please see the Menopause Diet 5 Day Plan for Weight Loss that we have compiled for you for information on how to prepare!
Disclaimer:
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied upon for making decisions. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is entirely at your own risk and responsibility!