Midlife Weight Gain: What's Going On?

In midlife so many things are fluctuating. Hormones are decreasing, hot flushes may be presenting, moods are continually shifting, and these shifts can extend to your weight as well. Many women can feel that their weight can get harder to control once they pass 45, and while studies don’t show a clear link between the menopause itself and weight gain, there are a few factors that can make a difference.

Sleeping patterns

Your sleeping pattern can throw everything out of whack when you’re in menopause – and this is true when it comes to weight gain. Because of our changing hormone levels, we can add 1-2 kg a week during menopause when we can’t sleep – this is according to a Swedish study of 400 women in midlife who recorded shortened sleep duration and weight gain. The problem is that this is what changes our health as we age. When we lose our deep sleep between 2am-4am, then much of this weight can go towards our middle.

The impact of Oestrogen

Lack of oestrogen may cause the body to use starches and blood sugar less effectively, which would increase fat storage and make it harder to lose weight. It is also known as Oestrogen Dominance. This refers to the fact that when menopause hormonal changes arrive and women don’t adjust their lifestyle to suit these changes, our fat cells turn towards storing any excess oestrogen that arrives from our diet and hormone-agents in the environment. When this happens, there is more oestrogen stored in our fat cells and this ‘dominates’ the internal environment.

Change of muscle mass

After menopause, you lose muscle mass, which lowers your resting metabolism, making it easier to gain weight. The rate at which you can use up energy during exercise also declines.

Vitamin D levels

Low oestrogen levels may cause low Vitamin D levels, which increases fat storage. Our skin is our largest organ and is full of oestrogen receptors. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and is produced in the skin with the help of oestrogen. Low levels have an effect on other hormones in the body too. Also important to note is when Vitamin D is low, hot flushes are increased and memory loss/ foggy brain becomes worse so keep eating that oily fish!

High stress levels

Some stress is good for us, but the problem in our menopause transition is that too much stress (and this includes from not sleeping and/ or too much exercise) increases cortisol levels. This powerful hormone is one of your stress hormones but it works in conjunction with melatonin, your sleep hormone. Too much stress (emotionally and physically) interferes with your sleep. When you don’t sleep, your insulin levels stay high and you resist overnight fat-burning.

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