Atlanta Wellness Clinic Podcast

Your Body Changes During Menopause, So Should Your Exercise Routine

• Catina Wilson • Episode 12

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How Does Menopause Affect Metabolism And Weight Gain?

The mystery of menopausal weight gain frustrates countless women who haven't changed their diet or exercise routines yet watch the numbers climb on their scales. This eye-opening conversation with licensed nutritionist Catina Wilson finally explains why—and more importantly, what to do about it.

When estrogen levels decline during menopause, it triggers a fundamental shift in how women's bodies distribute fat. That hormone once directed fat storage to hips and thighs (supporting potential pregnancy), but its decrease means fat now accumulates around the waist instead. This visceral fat isn't just cosmetically frustrating—it's metabolically active and linked to increased health risks. Combined with the natural slowing of metabolism that comes with age, menopausal women face what Catina calls "a double whammy" effect.

The solution might surprise you. While many women double down on cardio workouts during this life stage, strength training actually becomes far more critical. Muscle tissue burns calories constantly (even during sleep), while cardio only burns calories during the activity itself. Building and maintaining muscle through regular strength training, along with consuming protein at every meal, helps counteract the metabolic slowdown. 

 Ready to transform your approach? Visit Atlwellnessclinic.com for a free consultation and discover strategies tailored to your menopausal journey.

To learn more about Atlanta Wellness Clinic visit:
https://www.ATLWellnessClinic.com
Atlanta Wellness Clinic
1827 Powers Ferry Rd. SE, Bldg 1 STE 250
Atlanta, Georgia 30339
770-726-8978

Speaker 1:

welcome to the Atlanta Wellness Clinic podcast hosted by licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, katina Wilson. We're here to kickstart your weight loss journey because, let's be honest, the only thing we want gaining weight is our wallets from medical weight loss and nutrition coaching to body contouring. We help metro atlanta women get real results to body contouring. We help Metro Atlanta women get real results.

Speaker 2:

Let's dive in. We are talking about a hot topic today. Menopause brings more than hot flashes. It can change how your body burns calories. Let's talk about the hormonal shift that slows metabolism and what you can do about it. Welcome back everyone. I'm Millie M, co-host producer, back in the studio with licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, katina Wilson. Katina, how are you?

Speaker 3:

I'm well, I'm well.

Speaker 2:

How are you I am doing well Excited to dive into this one today. Ladies who are in perimenopause or currently going through menopause would like to know how does menopause affect metabolism and weight gain?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, this is such a hot topic right now with me and my circle of friends. You know Menopause, perimenopause. The reality is is that in this stage of life it brings on this significant shift in hormones, particularly with estrogen. We see a decline with estrogen and estrogen is a really good hormone within women and specifically as we start to see this decrease in estrogen, the fat shifts. Estrogen is really known as that hormone that's really there to help kind of distribute the fat. Typically women in their younger age thicker thighs, thicker hips, right For those babies, exactly right For carrying those babies. But as you start to kind of transition into that next phase, well, that shift, that decrease in estrogen, we actually start to see a shift in that fat distribution as well. And so now we're becoming thicker in the waist, which is like not the fat that you want to have. So there's that part of it.

Speaker 3:

And also, as you transition into this phase of life, your metabolism starts to decrease more and more. So for women that's a double whammy right Decrease in metabolism, decrease in estrogen. For somebody who eats healthy and they exercise. All the time you hear from women in this stage of life like I've not changed anything. You know, I'm still working out four or five times a week. I'm eating healthy, but I'm noticing that I'm gaining weight and I don't understand it. And they're gaining weight in their waist, or maybe they traditionally haven't. And so, yes, absolutely, heading into this phase of life, or being in this phase of life, we do tend to see that weight gain, unfortunately, life or being in this phase of life, we do tend to see that weight gain, unfortunately, so that lowering of estrogen.

Speaker 2:

that doesn't necessarily mean there's an increase in testosterone, because men tend to lose weight fast. It's not fair, but they do.

Speaker 3:

And it's not necessarily because of the testosterone right. Men tend to lose weight faster because they tend to have more muscle than women, right? So we've talked about this before in one of our earlier podcasts around the importance of lifting weights and maintaining that muscle, or building that muscle. In this phase of life for women, transitioning, the type of exercise that you do is going to be critically important. Women, we tend to want to get on the treadmill, do the aerobics classes, the Zumba classes. You know we really want to focus on the cardio and cardio absolutely is important, right? Never will hear me say that cardio is not important, but in this phase of life we really probably should start to pivot a little bit more and do more muscle building. So, whether it's strength training or body weight bearing type exercises, building that muscle, and the reason building that muscle is important is because muscle burns more calories than fat.

Speaker 3:

You could start to build some muscle. You could be sleeping and it's just burning 24 hours a day when you're doing cardio. You're burning when you're doing the cardio and only when you're doing the cardio right, and so, again, it's good for that fat burning. But if you want to burn calories throughout, really starting to build and maintain that muscle is going to be critically important, and that's the benefit that men have, because they tend to have more muscle than women.

Speaker 2:

Okay, that makes a lot of sense, and I think more women need to know about gaining that muscle and just imagine how proud of themselves they'll be as they get stronger they can see it.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I don't need help. You know, I got my you know 25, 30 pound bag at the airport. And nice gentleman I'm like. No, I got this.

Speaker 3:

I can just pick it up and lift it up and they're like, wow, she's really strong. And so, yeah, it does feel good when you can, when you can pick up heavy things and you're not feeling frail and you're feeling strong and you're looking fit and you're tight. You know, yes, building that muscle is so important. And lifting weights I'm a big proponent of that. And body weight exercises I'm a big proponent of that. That protein you need to make sure you have it with every meal, right? Because that's going to help you also maintain and build that muscle as well.

Speaker 2:

So talk to us about the loss of estrogen and how that affects insulin sensitivity.

Speaker 3:

The loss of estrogen. I think, again, where it's going to impact women the most is definitely from an insulin resistance standpoint, but I think the biggest change with the loss of estrogen, again, it's more because of the fat distribution. Right, estrogen really is that hormone that is driving how much fat and where the fat is going to live within our bodies and women. The reason we have more of that estrogen is for what you said earlier. Right, it's for carrying those babies, right? So we need that more so than men. Men have it, but they obviously don't have as much of it. But we need that for, and as we transition to this phase, the older we get, the less we need to be able to carry babies, and so that's why we see that decline. And so, again, with that drop in estrogen, what we see is the accumulation of fat in places where we don't traditionally see.

Speaker 3:

That fat, and the fat around your waist, that belly fat, that visceral fat, is some of the hardest fat to lose, right? So, yes, very much, so, very much so. Ask a woman again, who's you know, who's on a diet. She's lifting, she's exercising like crazy. She hasn't necessarily changed anything and she's reducing her calories. But at this age, when it starts to accumulate around the waist, it becomes harder and harder. It's not impossible, but it certainly is harder fat to lose. It's also the most riskiest of the fat because we tend to see people with that visceral fat. They tend to have more cardiac events than people who don't, but it is some of the hardest fat to lose.

Speaker 2:

So are there medical treatments that can boost metabolism in menopausal women?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think you know the GLP-1s. I mean, obviously you know we're a weight loss clinic and we offer that. There have been some great studies with GLP-1 medications, specifically medications like triseptide, that the studies are basically showing that, you know that medication for women in this phase of life we tend to see overall reduction in not only the weight but the body fat, particularly the visceral fat. So GLP-1 medications are certainly helpful. It's going to help decrease the food noise, so it's going to help with, you know, emotional eating. It's going to make you feel full longer, you know. So therefore you're feeling more satisfied. You're not, you know, immediately snacking and so it's just going to increase, you know, the fat burning of your body.

Speaker 3:

So trans appetite is a great medication, is one of the GLP-1 medications that, for women in this phase of life like that, we like to recommend, that our doctors tend to like to to recommend, I think, other things that they can do beyond, you know, medication. We said it earlier get, get in the gym, Don't be afraid to lift weight. You're not going to look like a man. We just don't carry enough testosterone, so we're not going to be walking around here, you know, with these huge muscles, but building that muscle, not only are you going to feel stronger, you're going to look toner and fit, but it's going to help you just burn those calories. And so I think, at this phase of life, it's we, as women, we need to consider more around transitioning from just focusing strictly on the cardio and to moving and pivoting more towards weight-bearing type exercises like weightlifting or bodyweight exercises.

Speaker 2:

And then there are various supplements that can also help with some of the symptoms of menopause as well. Great advice. I'm going to pass it on to my friends. I have a friend in particular. She's always on some type of machine, like you said, doing cardio, and I'm going to suggest to her that she start lifting weights and getting stronger and building up that muscle. I will catch you on the next episode. Appreciate all of your sound advice.

Speaker 3:

All right, great advice, thank you.

Speaker 1:

That's a wrap on this episode of the Atlanta Wellness Clinic podcast. If you're ready to kickstart your weight loss journey, and not just your bathroom scale and frustration, visit atlwellnesscliniccom or call us at 770-726-8978 for a free 10-minute weight loss consultation, because the best time to start was yesterday. The second best time right now. See you next time.