Peri-Menopause: A Weighty Issue

I was thrown into early menopause according to my family history and during this time gained a substantial amount of weight. Early on I didn't really understand how or why this happened since I really didn't change my diet or exercise program. In addition, I gained a lot of weight pretty quickly. I was always slightly heavy but never obese. Now, according to Western medical standards, I'm obese. Does this sound at all like what you've experienced?

As time went by and I got farther along in peri-menopause I was able to drop 40-45 pounds but I still maintain in excess of 50 stubborn pounds. The good news is based on research and case studies it has been determined that this excess weight will drop once I have stopped all menstrual activity.

I've been very frustrated with the stance that many physicians have taken with this issue. Western medicine does not fully understand why women gain weight during this turbulent time of in a woman's life. The most they will say is that we don't need as many calories and our lives become more sedentary as we age. I see this as too simplified and it doesn't explain many of my experiences or frustrations.

One explanation for the weight gain and specifically the addition of FAT is the body's protective nature. In its constant endeavor to endure, the body begins to "sense" a change coming. During this time the ovaries, the body's major source of estrogen, begin to fail or slow down the production of estrogen and other female hormones. In response the body begins to protect this estrogen by stock-piling it into the FAT cells for use later. The extra fat tissue thus becomes an extra endocrine gland, one of the many sources of estrogen metabolism and an important one at that.

Think of it this way: You have a lot of money and want to spread the wealth to a few different checking accounts and a savings account. As one of the checking accounts gets low your automatic transfer kicks in from your savings account to help replenish and maintain financial "health" in your checking account. Your body does something similar; by beefing up its fat stores it is insuring your body will always be prepared which could explain why just increasing exercise and decreasing calories doesn't seem to work very well.

For women who experience this storage syndrome the question is how do you spend what's in your checking account (your current fat stores) without having your savings account (your new little extra endocrine gland) continually transfer over fat? The answer is complex because every woman's physiology is different and it may sometimes be a case of trial and error until the right solution is found. We must also keep in mind that our hormones fluctuate much more often as we progress through peri-menopause, which means a solution that worked last month may not work this month.

Chris Kahl, R.N. is a co-founder of NewLogic Solutions Alternative Health & Wellness, www.newlogicsolutions.com. NewLogic Solutions is a blend of cutting edge approaches to wellness and the ancient healing solutions practiced for thousands of years. Chris has over 25 years of training and education as a registered nurse. Additionally, Chris is has been trained in TCM, she is a gifted CranioSacral Therapist, a practitioner of Acutonics Sound Healing, highly knowledgeable in Western and Eastern herbal medicine and homeopathy. Chris is also a Huna Practitioner and Alakai`i (teacher).