Menopause is a phase in women’s lives that involves big physiological changes. Like during puberty and pregnancy, women going through menopause experience huge hormonal shifts that can have cascading effects on blood sugar, gut microbiome and adrenal health. These changes can also affect body composition: women who never struggled with weight are suddenly dealing with more belly fat and love handles. Understandably feeling a lack of control, many seek out answers to help understand what’s going on.
However, many in conventional health still tell women going through perimenopause and menopause to simply work out more and eat less, which can oftentimes exacerbate the new issues these women face.
Like Erin discussed in last week’s episode: if the approach isn’t working, try a new approach. If the physiology changes, we NEED to change the approach.
Today Erin peels back the layers on not just what is happening during perimenopause and menopause, but WHY these changes occur and highlights underlying factors that can lead to problems like insulin resistance, adrenal fatigue, cortisol dysregulation, sleep issues, gallbladder problems and weight gain. She also outlines things to consider for adjusting to these physiological changes and ways to support your health during this phase. If you or someone you know is going through menopause and wants to know what a new approach could look like, this will be a valuable episode to hear.
In this episode:
-Space to have a deeper conversation about weight [5:18]
-Preframing the discussion on menopause [9:49]
-Understanding the aging body [15:08]
-What the hormonal changes during menopause have to do with weight [17:31]
-Questions to ask if you notice body composition changes [20:23]
-Hormone changes and a potential shift with insulin signaling [21:06]
-Imbalanced cortisol and other metabolic changes [23:01]
-Signs you might be dealing with insulin resistance and high blood sugars [27:39]
-The two huge needle movers when it comes to menopausal changes [30:30]
-Building muscle, movement & other ways to improve insulin sensitivity [31:58]
-How sleep impacts glucose metabolism [35:40]
-Food and gut health considerations for blood sugar during menopause [37:37]
-The 3rd most common GI issue for women over 40 [41:04]
-The link between insulin and gallbladder problems [43:34]
-Symptoms of potential bile issues [45:41]
FOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/206-weight-gain-menopause