It hit Susan like a train wreck she said. “I seemed to gain weight overnight, and I need help for losing weight after menopause.”

She is a regular for pain related acupuncture but we’ve never talked about menopause or weight gain. “My butt is as big as a caboose don’t you think?” Susan asked me turning around to show me where the fat had deposited itself. Like many women, her body had betrayed her. Why? Simple.

Menopause means a change. That’s what my mother called it. It’s right – a change in hormones. A change in your lifestyle. Particularly food and fitness.

Handing my patient a tissue I explained this.

Start Before It Happens

First thing is don’t wait until you notice symptoms. Start in your 40’s by being proactive. Use acupuncture for wellness care. In my office, we can do acupuncture through health insurance even when you don’t have acupuncture as a covered benefit. Acupuncture is one of the leading ways to reduce stress a major factor in weight gain.

Vary your exercise from walking to cycling. Do weight lifting and some yoga.

Start removing grains, pseudo-grains if you haven’t already.

Losing Weight After Menopause

Susan like many other women I work with in my practice had done an exercise routine for years. She explained that she did these videos at home and then walked every lunch hour for 10 minutes. Yet her belly and butt got bigger. The scale showed a gain too.

Two sizes bigger she felt that losing weight after menopause would be impossible. Not true!

As an acupuncturist, I know that acupuncture will boost the metabolism. I know as a functional medicine practitioner that certain supplements, food, and exercise will help you with losing weight after menopause.

Change Up Your Eating and Exercise

Begin a move toward a Paleo eating lifestyle if you haven’t already. Remove grains, sugar, and dairy from your diet for a while. Work with someone like myself who is an acupuncturist and a health coach.You’ll need to plan the changes in your eating habits. Cleaning out the kitchen, learning to cook or new ways to prepare tasty yet easy meals. You don’t have to do this alone.‘ Food is the most abused anxiety drug. Exercise is the most underutilized antidepressant.’ Unknown
Exercise[1] is about to change. Yes, you can still walk daily but the 10 minutes is now 45-60 minutes – daily. If you’re open to it, try other forms of cardio. Going to a spin class or a dance class for women. For Susan, we needed to add strength training. I suggested weightlifting. She preferred to try Yoga and Pilates. It all works.

The point is you have to change some things up. What worked when you were 40 doesn’t work when you’re 50. It will not work when you’re 60 either. You may move from high-impact to lower impact.

Mix it up at any age Susan did. She found a “spin room” on her way home from work and a Yoga place nearby. She still walks just further outside for longer.

She donated her exercise videos and bought a few light weights. On some days, she lifts weight in front of a mirror in her home.

Expected The Unexpected

Let it be fun. Your acupuncture treatment should be relaxing and a special time for you. Enjoy it. If you get your nails or hair done professionally then invest in your wellness and longevity through acupuncture care too.

Think about finding new recipes with our website.. Aren’t you tired of the same old thing? It’s exciting to eat new flavors and try old favorites with a new approach. A lot of women have gotten away from cooking. Using a health coach helps you find what fits your professional and personal lifestyle.

Susan resisted the idea of anything other than walking. Her busy schedule interfered with fitness classes. Deciding to give it a try she chose the “Spin room”. Indoor cycling helped to relieve stress more than walking. She began to sleep better. Losing weight after menopause became easier.

‘Let exercise be your stress reliever, not food.’ Unknown

Not everyone will have Susan’s amazing results of returning to her old dress size and have a shapelier body yet it’s possible for you too.

Losing weight after menopause always works if you apply my 2 tips. Susan latest comments about her body to me this past week, “Look! My butt looks better than it did when I was 40!”

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296386/

Photo by Abraham Elworo Dan Gold on Unsplash