The skinny on visceral fat
Does this sound familiar? You went to bed one night and woke up the next morning in someone else’s body? Everything had shifted. Weight gain around your belly. Muscle tone seemingly vanishing overnight. And let’s not talk about the favorite jeans you can no longer button.
You’re not alone. It’s still your beautiful body, just different. And it tends to happen as we approach menopause.
Why? Well, there are many factors but one is that our bodies undergo a metabolic change and weight distribution shift during our menopausal transition with the decline in estrogen.
Other big factors include changes in physical activity (we are sitting a lot more than when we were younger), decline in sleep quality and changes in diet.
As a result, we become much more susceptible to gaining visceral fat. One study showed that premenopausal body fat hovers around 5-8% and postmenopausal body fat around 15-20%. This is a big shift.
What is visceral fat and why do we need to keep tabs on it?
Visceral fat, which is different from subcutaneous fat (the squishy kind that you can see and pinch), is the fat deep within your abdomen that wraps around your organs, like your kidneys and liver and can negatively affect how these organs function.
Which is why we need to keep it in check. Studies show that we are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease as a result. Other risks include insulin resistance, cholesterol abnormalities, diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.
What can we do about keeping visceral fat under control?
This is where our everyday lifestyle choices and behaviors play a huge role.
What may have worked for you in the past might need some adjusting. What you choose to eat, how you move and how you prioritize sleep and stress will require more mindfulness and strategic planning.
FOOD
Common sense nutrition is something I’m subscribing to as I age. Ditch the overly processed foods and junk. Eat more whole foods. Increase your fiber, healthy protein, fruits and veggies and healthy fats. Basically, try to make good choices most of the time.
Want to keep it simple? Try eating the rainbow every day.
SLEEP
We need it. When we don’t sleep well, everything is off balance.
We are cranky, tend to not make the best food choices and don’t feel motivated to move. We make better decisions when we get quality sleep. These decisions play an important role in our overall health. Check out these tips on improving your zzzzs.
MOVEMENT
We have to make the choice to move every day. And we have to be mindful about how we are moving. Running 10 miles a day might not be giving you the same health benefits to your menopausal body that it once did in your younger years.
During menopause, we lose muscle mass. Strength training becomes so important as we age in order to maintain and build muscle mass and bone density. When we build muscle, we improve our metabolism and improve bone density and decrease our risk for diabetes and osteoporosis.
Women are living longer than we ever have. It’s a privilege that we get to age. But with that privilege comes responsibility. Paying attention to what your body needs, what will help it thrive and what will give it longevity are key.
Now, go out ant tackle that visceral fat gain with what you’ve learned today!
