During menopause, weight gain can be a big concern for many women – but experts say the best diet isn’t aimed at shedding pounds, but at improving your health and energy.
Focus on eating foods that boost heart health, bone strength, and muscle mass, and avoid the cycle of losing and gaining weight repeatedly.
By being kind to yourself and eating a variety of nutritious foods that make you feel good, you can improve your health and wellbeing during menopause.
Weight gain is a big concern among menopausal women – but when it comes to your ideal diet, experts say shedding pounds should not be your primary focus.
Pallavi Khanna, MD, OB/GYN, a Certified Menopause Practitioner at Regional One Health, leads our Menopause Care Clinic and Menopause Support Group. She talks with patients about nutrition in terms of how it supports their health rather than how it impacts their weight.
“Don’t think about the number on the scale – worry about how your nutrition impacts muscle loss, bone loss, heart health, etc.,” she said. “There are so many things your body goes through during menopause that you don’t have control over…but there are also things where you can make healthy choices, and what you eat is one of them.”
Dr. Khanna recently hosted Emily Gause, MA, RDN, LDN, a dietitian with Memphis Nutrition Group, during a Menopause Support Group session.
Gause offered expert advice for how menopausal women can shift their focus when it comes to diet from losing weight to fueling an active and fulfilling lifestyle. “Be kind to yourself, and give yourself permission to eat what will satisfy you in a way that aligns with your health goals and how you want to feel,” she said.
Gause said menopause can contribute to weight gain and changes in body composition, such as more weight accumulating around the stomach.
During menopause, estrogen levels drop, she explained. With less estrogen, women face an increased risk of heart disease, insulin resistance and higher blood sugar, loss of muscle mass, slower metabolism, and a decrease in bone density. It can be tempting to think that dieting to lose weight will “fix” those problems – but Gause said that is a vast oversimplification.
Dr. Pallavi Khanna is a OB/GYN and Certified Menopause Practitioner at Regional One Health. She leads our Menopause Care Clinic and Menopause Support Group to help women stay healthy as they age.
“All diets are based on taking in fewer calories than you burn,” she said. “Whether it’s Keto or intermittent fasting or anything else, the goal is to reduce calories – but there are risks associated with pursuing weight loss as your goal.”
“When you restrict calories, the body thinks there isn’t enough food in the environment, so it tries to hold onto everything it can. This slows your metabolism, so you’re more likely to gain weight if you start eating normally again or even if you continue to eat less.”
That can lead to a cycle of losing and gaining weight repeatedly. That cycle contributes to decreased bone density and muscle mass, increased inflammation, a slower metabolism, and a higher risk of heart disease – the same problems you were trying to prevent by losing weight.
Gause said there are plenty more reasons not to focus solely on weight.
For one, there is little evidence that weight loss alone leads to better health. In fact, research actually suggests gaining 17 to 22 pounds during menopause may have some benefits because estrogen produced by additional fat cells protects the heart.
Furthermore, she said, one of the weight measurements most commonly used to measure health – the BMI chart – isn’t an accurate predictor.
Gause noted BMI was never designed to gauge individual health, but to provide a snapshot of society. Also, it was developed over 200 years ago based solely on white European men and fails to consider exercise, sleep, nutrition, and other key factors.
She said modern research shows patients don’t experience consistent health problems until they have a BMI over 40, yet the chart considers a BMI of 30 obese and a BMI of 40 morbidly obese.
With that in mind, Gause suggests shifting the focus away from weight and BMI when designing a healthy diet for menopause. Instead, she advises women to use nutrition as a way to improve overall health, gain energy, and protect against serious disease.
The best diet for menopause isn’t one that cuts calories with the goal of losing weight…it is one that makes you feel good and provides the nutrients the body needs to protect heart health, bone strength, and muscle mass.
Some of her tips for menopausal women include:
- Aim for three meals and two to three snacks daily, spaced 2-4 hours apart. Include each food group – protein, carbohydrates, fats, fruits and vegetables, and dairy.
- To improve bone density and muscle mass, get enough calcium, vitamin D, phosphorous and magnesium from dairy, spinach, broccoli, eggs, salmon, nuts or seeds, and soy.
- For heart health, incorporate healthy fats like olive or canola oil, nuts, seeds, avocado and fish oil. Increase your fiber intake through fruits and vegetables, whole grains, complex carbohydrates, flax, beans, lentils and soy.
- Build your body image resilience and protect your emotional health as it relates to your weight. Counseling, yoga, community support, etc. can help.
Gause wants women to look at their menopause diet as an opportunity to improve their health, rather than as a punishment designed to constrict their weight and, in turn, their confidence.
“Menopause is not a disease or something to cure, but it can be a challenging time of life,” she said. “You’re transitioning to a new stage of life, so use your energy to add meaning rather than micromanage your weight or avoid new experiences because of how you think your body looks.”
“Don’t live a life that shrinks. Live a life that continues to grow!”