Q: How do I lose belly fat after menopause?
A: It’s easy, there are 3 easy exercises to do and 3 supplements to take that will magically melt away your belly fat… well, that’s what I saw in an email yesterday, and it sure would be nice if that was true. Here’s reality:
You lose belly fat the same way after menopause that you would before or during, but it will likely seem harder (and different) because of the impact of hormonal changes and age.
Why do I have more belly fat?
As women near and enter menopause the production of estrogens decline. The decline in estrogens causes a redistribution of body fat away from the limbs and hips, and towards the midsection – the waist gets larger even if you don’t gain a pound. This decline in estrogens also leads to a reduction in muscle and bone mass, which makes weight loss harder.
What can be done? In a word: exercise.
In more words on how to lose belly fat after menopause:
“Meanwhile, exercise has adipocyte-specific [adipocytes are fat cells] effects that may alleviate the adverse impact of estrogen loss through the menopausal transition period and beyond. Exercise thus remains the best therapeutic agent available to mitigate menopause-associated metabolic dysfunction.” Emphasis added. From the journal Nutrients.
What they’re saying is that exercise is the most effective thing you can do. I will say that’s not the same as the only thing to do, but, also, it’s #1.
Still disappointed?
Everyone (myself included) wishes there was a way to continue living without actually getting older, but that’s not in the cards for any of us.
Aging isn’t for the faint of heart, but it beats the alternative. Everyone wishes there was a way to continue living without getting older, but that’s not in the cards for any of us. We can age well, extend our health-span and play-spans, but we’re all getting older if we’re lucky enough to continue living.
What about HRT?
Many women find that HRT does wonders for them, and there’s a lot to consider there, so please talk to your doctor about that. A few decades ago we were warned that HRT would increase cancer risk, but the FDA has recently removed those warnings. Furthermore, even before the FDA removed those warning, it was clear that all cause mortality was generally improved with HRT because of it’s positive impact on cardiovascular health. (All cause mortality = looking at all the thousands of things that can kill someone vs just one, which gives you a better sense of if you are trading protection from one risk for the same or greater risks elsewhere.)
Fat Loss vs Weight Loss
You’ve heard that your body weight is a function of calories in – calories out, which is true. However, since we are talking about body fat in particular, there’s a different formula: body fat = fat eaten – fat burned. Meaning that at the same calorie deficit you will lose more fat if you eat less fat (same weight loss will occur). The fat that you eat is the fat that you keep.
Here’s a quick breakdown of why dietary fat makes body fat loss slower:
Fat: The fat we eat arrives in the chemical structure of fat, so little to nothing needs to be done for it to be stored as fat.
Carbs: Carbohydrates contain calories (obvi), but they arrive in the chemical structure as carbohydrates. Your body has to do a lot of work to convert carbohydrates to fat. This process is called de novo lipogenesis (DNL). This means your body can only make 2-10g of fat from carbohydrates per day, which means it will take 45 to 226 days to build one pound of fat from excess carbohydrate.
Protein: dietary protein is very expensive (calorie cost) to turn into body fat. The costs are so high, that we have yet to document people gaining fat from being overfed protein. That’s not saying you should try to stuff yourself with low fat protein, and who would want to eat endless tubs of fat-free Greek yogurt anyway.
Bottom Line on how to lose belly fat after menopause
Aging beats the alternative, but that doesn’t mean being passive, it means taking a note from the Serenity Prayer. Fat-loss (belly fat is bodyfat) is achieved the same way after menopause as before, but it is harder, and here is a recap of the most important things to do:
- Consistent strength training – the older you get the more volume you need, and, usually the more often you need it
- Getting enough protein – those muscles aren’t going to maintain or build themselves
- Getting your steps in
- Mind your calories
- Mind your fat intake
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