Filed under: Advice, Happiness, Health, Hormone Diet
Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That’s Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.
The changes in a woman’s body between the ages of 35 and 55 could be referred to as the “midlife expansion.” It is a time when weight gain occurs more easily, fat accumulates around the waist and stomach rather than on the hips or thighs and maintaining weight or body shape becomes extra difficult. This change in body shape occurs primarily because of the alternations in hormone balance in addition to the normal effects of aging. There is a natural tendency to lose muscle every year after the age of 30 without a focused effort to maintain it. But, weight gain does not have to be inevitable!
Causes of Middle Age Weight Gain
For most women, shifts in weight begin before menopause (peri-menopause) when an average woman gains approximately one pound a year leading up to menopause. Many women believe that the changing levels of estrogen are the main cause of weight gain, but other factors are also at play:
Six ways to avoid middle age fat after the jump
Continue reading Middle-Age Weight Gain: Six Natural Ways to Fight It