How can I lose weight if I have a small belly during menopause? Remember these 4 dietary tips! Chinese medicine doctor Zhou Zonghan: This one trick can help you lose belly fat

"It's strange! I obviously don't eat much, why is my weight increasing instead of decreasing?", "That's nothing, look at the fat on my belly, that's scary." I believe the above conversations are common troubles for many mothers. Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan said that the reason why women are particularly prone to gaining weight once they reach menopause is mainly due to female hormone imbalance, which causes a decrease in metabolic rate. If you want to say goodbye to your belly, I recommend stick exercises to train your core muscles and strengthen abdominal circulation, which is very effective!

Why are women more prone to obesity during menopause?

Why is it particularly easy to gain weight during menopause? This is a question that many older women cannot figure out. Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan said that this is because after a woman stops menstruating, her daily basal metabolic rate will decrease by about 100 calories.

In addition, when women enter menopause, the amount of estrogen secretion in their bodies decreases. In addition to being an important hormone that affects women's ovulation and menstruation, estrogen also plays a role in regulating the body's fat metabolism. Therefore, when women stop menstruating and estrogen levels decrease, fat metabolism will naturally be impaired, causing fat accumulation.

Therefore, in clinical practice, in addition to menopausal women, we often see similar conditions in women who have had their uterus or ovaries removed due to gynecological diseases. If women still maintain their menopause or the lifestyle before uterus/ovary removal at this time, they will accumulate 100 calories more in their body every day. As time goes by, it will naturally lead to body deformation and increasing weight.

When women stop menstruating and estrogen levels decrease, fat metabolism will naturally be impaired, causing fat accumulation.

To prevent menopausal obesity, Chinese medicine practitioners reveal 4 dietary tips

In addition to discussing from the perspective of Western medicine, Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan also mentioned that Chinese medicine believes that the reason why women tend to gain weight during menopause is related to the decline in overall body function. In the ancient book "Huangdi Neijing", "When a girl is seven years old, her kidney qi is strong, her teeth grow and her hair grows; at the age of 27, the menstrual qi arrives, the Ren meridian is unblocked, the Taichong meridian is strong, and her menstruation comes on time, so she can have children...; at the age of 77, the Ren meridian becomes weak, the Taichong meridian weakens, the menstrual qi is exhausted, the Didao meridian is blocked, so her body deteriorates and she cannot have children." This describes the aging process of women from puberty to menopause.

The 77th day represents the 49-year-old stage for women. At this time, women’s physical constitution mostly turns to kidney deficiency and blood dryness, resulting in hot flashes and night sweats. Therefore, when Chinese medicine adjusts the physical condition of menopausal women, they often start by restoring the balance of the liver and kidneys, and prescribe Chinese medicines such as rose, scutellaria, tortoise shell, fructus ligustri lucidi, wolfberry, raw and cooked rehmannia, and phellodendron to nourish the kidneys, calm the liver, and moisten the blood, to help improve the quality of life. At the same time, keep in mind the following 4 daily dietary tips, which are the key to preventing menopausal weight gain and protruding belly:

Dietary tips 1: Eat small meals frequently and season appropriately

In normal times, we should avoid high-sugar, high-fat, and high-calorie foods, and choose boiling, stewing, and steaming instead of frying. At the same time, slow down your eating speed, develop the habit of eating small and frequent meals, and divide the three meals into 5 to 6 meals to prolong the gastrointestinal digestion and absorption process, which also helps promote the decomposition of fat.

Dietary Tip 2: Avoid cold or raw food

Cold, raw food can easily lead to a decrease in the body's basal metabolic rate and poor blood circulation. Therefore, it is recommended that menopausal women should eat less cold food than the average person and eat more warm food.

Dietary Tip 3: Moderate intake of soy foods

Supplement more high-quality protein. For example, soybeans, soy milk, tofu, tofu skin, etc. are rich in soy isoflavones, which are natural plant hormones. These legumes can not only help relieve menopausal discomfort, but also help slow down the rate of weight gain.

Dietary Tip 4: Supplement calcium-containing foods

In addition to maintaining normal bone density, having sufficient calcium in the body can also enhance the body's metabolism and help lose weight. Common calcium-containing foods include dried fish, nuts, kale, red amaranth, cauliflower, cabbage, rapeseed, cheese and dairy products, which are all good choices.

Say goodbye to belly fat, stick exercise has many benefits

In addition to adjusting the diet, Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan also mentioned that kidney deficiency can cause women's basal metabolic rate to slow down and their muscle synthesis to decrease. The body tends to synthesize fat, so it is easy to gain weight. This is especially true for women after menopause. Since the core muscles are mostly weak, fat is naturally easy to accumulate in the abdomen due to poor abdominal circulation, forming circles of fat.

Therefore, it is recommended that women after menopause should develop the habit of regular exercise to maintain body muscle mass, and moderate "stick exercises" to exercise core muscles and strengthen abdominal circulation are good ways to take care of themselves at home.

【Stick exercise】

Method: Find a clean, unobstructed floor, then support yourself with your elbows, place your feet shoulder-width apart, and place your toes on the ground in a straight line from the back of your head to your heels, then hold your whole body up for 30 seconds.

If the stick exercise is difficult to perform, it is recommended to replace it with aerobic exercise or brisk walking. When race walking, lightly clench your fists, with your upper body's elbows at 90 degrees, and swing your fists forward to your chest and back to your waist, swinging them easily; and keep your lower abdomen and buttocks squeezed, which also helps to exercise the muscles of the abdomen, buttocks, legs and back.