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 matters together with the evolutionary causes behind why losing a few pounds is so arduous and new weight reduction medication and the right way to speak to children about weight. You possibly can pay attention right here.

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

“I went to sleep and I wakened 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 Drugs, the place she can be an affiliate professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

This phenomenon isn’t restricted to her sufferers, Christmas advised CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his latest podcast. “I seemed round at my family members or perhaps different folks that I knew that had been in that age vary, and it did look like, wow, they did appear to achieve lots of weight in a brief time frame,” she mentioned.

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Ladies do achieve about 1½ kilos per yr throughout their 40s and 50s. And lots 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 improve the danger of heart problems.

However is menopause actually in charge for ladies’s midlife weight achieve? As with so many well being points, it’s difficult.

Christmas mentioned it’s unattainable to speak about weight achieve 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.

“Ageing typically is related to weight achieve, extra so due to way of life adjustments: being extra sedentary, not as energetic as we as soon as had been,” Christmas mentioned.

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

And there’s a minimum of yet another issue that contributes to weight achieve as we age. “The fact of it’s that our metabolism slows as we grow old,” she mentioned. One oft-cited examine 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 load achieve doesn’t occur with everyone; folks which might be actually energetic, which might be meticulous about train, which might be intentional about what they gasoline 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 program 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 consult with me as a ‘meals snob.’ If it will probably stay in a merchandising machine for years and nonetheless be thought of contemporary, I don’t put it in my physique,” she mentioned by way of e mail.

Christmas additionally advises in opposition to going too heavy on the meat. “Michael Pollan mentioned it finest: ‘Eat actual meals, not an excessive amount of, and principally crops.’ He’s so proper,” she mentioned. “Every time we consider folks as ‘growing older backwards,’ they’re often vegetarians or near it. Adhering to a plant-forward weight loss program, crammed with anti-inflammatory meals (like these discovered within the Mediterranean weight loss program) and avoiding extremely processed meals containing sodium, sugar and trans fat is the very best present you may give your self.”

This doesn’t imply that you may’t ever have a deal with. “In the event you do take pleasure in one thing decadent, cut back later,” she mentioned.

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

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

“Particularly, what we’re dropping: 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 very best kind of train is. “My response is all the time the identical: ‘the one which you’ll do,’” she mentioned. “I really like strolling with a mix of yoga and Pilates. Nonetheless, the choices are infinite: 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 pal, and go usually.”

Restrict alcohol or keep away from it altogether.

“Exterior 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 — after they drink alcohol.”

Prioritize sleep.

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

Observe self-care and self-love

Menopause is a pure section of life that could be related to bothersome signs together with weight achieve — however don’t let that extinguish your pleasure.

“It’s vital to be intentional about participating 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 might be horrifying. Making time to do issues that deliver us pleasure and peace are vital to total well-being.”

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

We hope these 5 ideas make it easier to climate the years round menopause with a little bit of equanimity. Hearken 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.”