Most women dread menopause.
Among its other unpleasant effects, it has been known to cause weight gain as well.
A common misconception is that this weight gain is natural and unavoidable when, in fact, simple diet changes and exercise can do wonders for the large number of women who are self-conscious about their weight.
Diet is of course the primary method to combat weight gain during menopause.
A well balanced diet, with good fat, complex carbohydrates, and protein will help your body control hormones.
This in turn will minimize menopause weight gain.
Examples of good foods to eat during menopause are whole wheat bread, skinless chicken, poached eggs, almonds, green vegetables, and oatmeal.
Foods to avoid are fast food (no duh!), fried foods such as fried chicken and high-sugar foods like candy, chocolate etc.
Although not a necessity, exercise can be very helpful to lose weight during menopause.
Walking, light jogging, swimming and other cardiovascular activities burn lots of calories and also step up your body's metabolic rate so you burn up fat faster.
This will translate into happier moments on the scale and in front of the mirror.
Exercise increases your body's muscle to fat ratio which improves your overall fitness as well.
Other activities, such as dancing, tennis, soccer, or anything that gets you moving and will help you burn fat.
Also proven to help in losing weight during menopause, is having a high intake of water as some of the weight gain can be attributed to fluid retention.
High water intake helps combat this problem, as do vegetable juices and less salt intake.
One other factor in the difficult of losing weight during menopause is too much alcohol.
All those beers, wines and liquors add up to extra pounds at your next weigh-in.
This being the case, you should limit yourself to no more than a few alcoholic drinks weekly and, of course, none works best! Taking all the advice given here can help you lose a few pounds, but to really get in shape and get the body you want, you need take control of your life.
You need the proper plan to reach your diet goals.