How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off Even After Menopause

November 1, 8:03 PMSF Fiftysomething Lifestyle ExaminerAmy Wachspress

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This is not your typical weight control article, which says that all you have to do is eat healthy food, eat less food, and exercise. Although that works, it’s hard to do. What about temptation? What about that appetite? What about the fact that after menopause, your body clings to every shred of fat-building material as fiercely as a tiger clings to a piece of raw meat? You can eat healthy food and get regular exercise and still struggle with unwanted pounds, particularly after going through menopause, because your metabolism will simply not cooperate.

After menopause, a woman’s metabolism slows down. You can function quite well on less fuel; as simple as that. So the first thing you need to do is eat less, which diet experts call “portion control.” How can you eat less and not be hungry? One possibility that may work for you is the Zone Diet, originally developed and promoted by Barry Sears. (Note that the author of this article has no secret agenda or vested interest in promoting Dr. Sears or the Zone Diet.) In this diet, you eat a combination of carbohydrate, fat, and protein at every meal, and this leaves you satisfied, reducing food cravings. The carbohydrate comes primarily from fruits and vegetables, the fat must be “good” fat, and the protein must be low fat. (To find out more about the Zone Diet click here.) The Zone Diet is not low-carb. It redefines carbs. It has you avoid most grain carbs, which may or may not be the greatest idea from a nutritional point of view (depending on who you talk to).

Reducing grain carbohydrates will definitely help you lose weight. Start thinking of most grain carbohydrates as “expensive,” meaning you can’t spend much of your daily allotment of carb intake on them. Eat few grains. (Note: avoid potatoes too.) Good grains to eat in moderation might be brown rice, pasta (Barilla makes a pasta with less semolina that uses legume flour), bread, cereal, or crackers. Eat no foods that contain sugar, except as a rare treat (and then stop after a small portion). When you eat bread (and this is very important), only eat 100% sprouted grain bread. The body processes sprouted grain differently from refined grain. Your body does not convert sprouted grain into fat because sprouted grain is largely roughage. Your body pulls some good nutrients from it and dumps the rest. At the health food store, you can usually find sprouted grain tortillas, English muffins, crackers, and other products that help satisfy that bread craving. (But don’t go overboard and eat a loaf of sprouted grain bread. Two slices a day is reasonable. It’s that portion control thing, which is especially important with grains.)

The carbohydrates you consume on the Zone Diet are fruit and vegetables, with more vegetables than fruit, and also beans and legumes. Research what is meant by good fats, which include olive oil, avocado, and nuts (also nut butters). Note that these fats have calories so you have to moderate how much you eat (portion control again). But you do need to include some good fat with each meal to be “in the zone.” The last part of the Zone Diet is the protein, which can be low fat dairy products, low fat soy products, fish, or lean meat. (Barry Sears discourages eating eggs, but for those who eat little meat or fish, the eggs are a staple.)

So, for instance, here is a typical day on this type of diet:
Breakfast is one cup of coffee, 3 cashews (fat), ½ cup nonfat plain yogurt, and one sliced peach with ¼ cup of blueberries (carb).
Lunch is a huge salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olives, oregano (carb), oil and vinegar dressing (fat), and feta cheese sprinkled generously on top (protein).
Dinner is one slice of sprouted wheat bread (carb) with a veggie burger and mustard (carb and protein), coleslaw (more carb plus fat in the dressing), tomato salad (carb), roasted Portobello mushroom (carb), mayonnaise on the veggie burger (fat), and a slice of cheese on the veggie burger (protein).
Snack in the late evening is a piece of fruit or a few raw veggies, 4 almonds, and a small piece of low fat cheese (to fulfill all the foods to be in the zone).

At first, eating according to the Zone Diet can be tough, but as you become used to it, you will find that you stop having cravings for more food and you actually feel full quickly on much less. Teach yourself to say, “OK, you are done, you don’t need to eat anymore now.”

Here are some further tips. Never drink calories. Stick to water, coffee, tea, and other no-calorie drinks. Even though fruit juice has great vitamins and minerals, it has a lot of calories. It’s better to get those vitamins and minerals from whole fruits and veggies. The more water you can drink the better. If you do drink a little fruit juice as a treat, eat a couple of almonds and a small piece of low fat cheese to be in the zone.

As for the exercise part, well that’s truly important for health, but not necessarily what will help you lose weight. Exercise is vital as we grow older to protect heart health, relieve stress, reduce the danger of diabetes (to either prevent onset or manage an existing diabetic condition), and for many, many other health reasons. A recent study reports, however, that exercise may not necessarily help you lose weight. One reason for this is that it increases appetite! If you do not exercise regularly then you absolutely must get off that couch. And yes, starting an exercise program (in the previous absence of one) will help you lose weight. If you already exercise regularly, then increasing your exercise may not necessarily help with the weight. Ideally, you should be exercising enough to raise a sweat for an hour a day. But that can be a tall order, simply because of the challenge of making time for that much exercise. Try walking for 30-40 minutes every morning. Strength training (e.g., lifting weights) is also important for health (and diminishes/prevents osteoporosis). Consult your doctor or other health professional for assistance in developing an appropriate exercise plan that will work for you, then stick to it. There is no point in crafting an exercise plan that is too ambitious, because you won’t do it. And remember that you don’t have to join a gym if you can’t afford it. There are excellent and free alternatives.

To manage your weight after menopause, you must make permanent changes in your lifestyle, particularly your eating habits. There is no going back. You must eat less and find ways to be satisfied with this. You must make time to exercise every day. Remember that 1) in social situations, it’s not all about the food but more about the people; 2) you don’t need to make your children eat the same things you do to enjoy a meal together; and 3) it’s OK to cheat now and then but do so in moderation.