Season 9 of the podcast “Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta” explores the intersection between physique weight and well being. We delve into a variety of subjects together with the evolutionary causes behind why losing a few pounds is so laborious and new weight reduction medicine and learn how to discuss to youngsters about weight. You possibly can pay attention right here.

(CNN) — Menopause and weight acquire appear to go hand in hand.

“I went to sleep and I awoke the subsequent day, and I promise you, I’ve gained 20 kilos.” That’’s the grievance Dr. Monica Christmas hears on a regular basis as director of the menopause program at College of Chicago Medication, the place she can also be an affiliate professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

This phenomenon isn’t restricted to her sufferers, Christmas instructed CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his latest podcast. “I appeared round at my family members or possibly different folks that I knew that have been in that age vary, and it did seem to be, wow, they did appear to realize a number of weight in a brief time period,” she mentioned.

Ladies do acquire about 1½ kilos per 12 months throughout their 40s and 50s. And a number of that further weight appears to land within the midsection, setting the stage for metabolic issues together with hypertension, excessive blood sugar and excessive ldl cholesterol, all of which enhance the danger of heart problems.

However is menopause actually accountable for girls’s midlife weight acquire? As with so many well being points, it’s sophisticated.

Christmas mentioned it’s inconceivable to speak about weight acquire round menopause with out speaking concerning the different elephant within the room: growing older. “Menopause is inextricably tied to the growing older course of,” she mentioned.

“Getting older generally is related to weight acquire, extra so due to way of life modifications: being extra sedentary, not as lively as we as soon as have been,” Christmas mentioned.

She mentioned it often doesn’t occur abruptly. As an alternative, altering life circumstances, equivalent to extra job and parenting tasks, conspire to rob us of time for spare time activities that used to maintain us lively. “We began slowly realizing … ‘I didn’t find time for these sorts of issues,’” she mentioned.

And there’s no less than yet one more issue that contributes to weight acquire as we age. “The truth of it’s that our metabolism slows as we grow old,” she mentioned. One oft-cited research discovered that it stays pretty steady between the ages of 20 and 60 however then declines.

However it’s removed from a misplaced trigger, Christmas mentioned. “The burden acquire doesn’t occur with all people; folks which are actually lively, which are meticulous about train, which are intentional about what they gas their our bodies with, it’s most likely a minimal change.”

So, what are you able to do to mitigate middle-age unfold? Christmas has these 5 ideas.

Your physique, your temple

Christmas believes in treating your weight loss plan such as you deal with your checking account: Be meticulous about what you select to place into it and the way you spend your energy.

“My family and friends seek advice from me as a ‘meals snob.’ If it may well stay in a merchandising machine for years and nonetheless be thought of contemporary, I don’t put it in my physique,” she mentioned through e-mail.

Christmas additionally advises towards going too heavy on the meat. “Michael Pollan mentioned it greatest: ‘Eat actual meals, not an excessive amount of, and largely vegetation.’ He’s so proper,” she mentioned. “Each time we consider folks as ‘growing older backwards,’ they’re often vegetarians or near it. Adhering to a plant-forward weight loss plan, full of anti-inflammatory meals (like these discovered within the Mediterranean weight loss plan) and avoiding extremely processed meals containing sodium, sugar and trans fat is the perfect reward you can provide your self.”

This doesn’t imply that you would be able to’t ever have a deal with. “For those who do bask in one thing decadent, reduce later,” she mentioned.

Train is vital to sustaining a wholesome weight and combating the muscle loss that comes with growing older and might put older adults at increased danger of incapacity.

“The adage ‘use it or lose it’ couldn’t be more true through the menopause transition,” Christmas mentioned.

“Particularly, what we’re shedding: our muscle tone, flat tummy, trim waistline — I’ll cease right here as a result of I’m miserable myself,” she mentioned. “Consultants suggest 150 minutes of moderate-intensity bodily exercise and two days of muscle strengthening per week.”

She is commonly requested what the perfect sort of train is. “My response is at all times the identical: ‘the one which you’ll do,’” she mentioned. “I really like strolling with a mixture of yoga and Pilates. Nevertheless, the choices are limitless: hip-hop aerobics, spin class, biking, climbing, tennis, swimming, step class, Jazzercise, lining dancing, boxing, pole dancing, weightlifting, barre. The purpose is to be intentional; discover one thing you want, take a good friend, and go usually.”

Restrict alcohol or keep away from it altogether.

“Outdoors of the additional energy, alcohol can disrupt sleep, exacerbate or set off despair and sometimes lower our inhibition,” Christmas mentioned. “Most individuals are inclined to eat extra — and it’s often no more veggies — once they drink alcohol.”

Prioritize sleep.

“Analysis has proven that not getting sufficient sleep is related to weight acquire,” Christmas mentioned. “Those that don’t get sufficient sleep usually snack extra and bask in all of the high-calorie meals we should always keep away from.”

Observe self-care and self-love

Menopause is a pure part of life which may be related to bothersome signs together with weight acquire — however don’t let that extinguish your pleasure.

“It’s vital to be intentional about partaking in common train and adhering to a nutritious diet; nevertheless, it’s equally as vital to create house for self-care,” Christmas mentioned. “For some — not all — the menopause transition may be scary. Making time to do issues that deliver us pleasure and peace are vital to general well-being.”

She added that unhappiness, irritability, elevated nervousness and decreased motivation are quite common through the transition to menopause. “Session with a psychological well being specialist and, in some instances, medical remedy may be useful, particularly if despair is contributing to overeating or lack of train,” she mentioned.

We hope these 5 ideas assist you to climate the years round menopause with a little bit of equanimity. Take heed to the total episode right here. And be part of us subsequent week on the “Chasing Life” podcast, once we discover what makes weight problems a “illness.”