The transition into menopause can be very tough for many women because they tend to experience numerous unpleasant menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, joint aches, irritability, menopause fatigue, menopause brain fog, and other side effects of hormonal changes.
It takes place a year after a woman's last period, and while it's natural, it can lower your quality of life to a large extent. Reducing estrogen levels may even be harmful to your health and makes it harder to manage weight.
But, amidst the most challenging symptoms of menopause is weight gain. Maybe you’re struggling to lose menopause belly fat yourself, and that’s why you’re here searching for a menopause diet plan.
Don't worry - you’ve come to the right place! You can take your life into your own hands and make the process of experiencing menopause easier. It's no secret that we are what we eat - food is crucial for a healthy lifestyle and can help you alleviate undesirable symptoms.
Keep in mind that it doesn't mean your meals must be bland or boring. We'll provide you with tips for the best diet for menopause that is rich in nutritious elements and, at the same time, delicious foods that will allow you to enjoy better health, reduced belly fat, more energy, and less menopausal side effects.Â
Without any further ado, let's explore this subject in more detail!
The official start of the menopause transition can be marked by the time when a woman hasn't had a menstrual cycle for 12 months.Â
When this time comes, weight loss may become very hard. Also, many women say that their increased weight gain has started during the decade prior to menopause, often referred to as perimenopause. And why is that so?
There are several factors that can make it harder for a woman to manage weight, such as:
Furthermore, there is also one annoying fact about that - menopause leads to unfavorable fat storage shifts! Namely, at that time, you may expect to gain most of the fat in your abdomen.Â
Despite the sole fact that you may not like to have too much belly fat, it is also dangerous to your health because it raises the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome (source).
For this reason, it is important to develop the right diet for menopause to manage weight and ease other unpleasant menopause symptoms, as it can not only affect your appearance but, most significantly, your health!
During menopause, it is especially crucial to take care of proper nutrition and eat foods that are beneficial for women's health at that transition time. Check out some of the menopause diet meal plan essentials below!
Are you aware of the fact that whole grains are the "good carbs"? And there are many reasons for that!Â
They can serve as an outstanding source of heart-healthy soluble fibers, as well as plant protein and several B vitamins that support proper metabolism and energy regulation.Â
Cruciferous veggies should be your good friends during menopause as well! And broccoli is particularly worth adding to your menopause diet plan, as it has an excellent impact on your hormones - it helps your body produce more estrogen.Â
Apart from that, broccoli is also one of the foods that can strengthen your bones thanks to its calcium content (source). Also, as it is full of fiber, it can help you to fight two unpleasant menopausal symptoms - weight gain and bloating. How awesome is that!
Another kind of food that is definitely worth including in your menopause diet plan is salmon. This fish is rich in both omega-3 fats, and these two nutrients are truly vital for menopausal women.
But that's not the end of salmon's properties for improving health! As it also has a lot of vitamin D, eating it can contribute to more healthy bones and preventing several conditions that can result from menopause (source).
Haven't you heard a hundred times before that you should eat a lot of leafy greens? Well, here goes number one hundred and one - they're excellent for a menopause diet plan!Â
They're packed with crucial nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, fiber, and B vitamins, so they're definitely worth eating regularly.Â
They support overall better health, but they're particularly important during menopause because they can strengthen bones, prevent weight gain, improve muscle mass, and regulate energy levels and moods (source). They're truly amazing foods for sure!
You've probably thought that you won't be able to eat anything sweet while following your menopause belly fat diet plan. Wrong!Â
You can make your life a little sweeter with berries. They are helpful not only in reducing weight but also in supporting heart health and reducing aches.
To include them in your menopause diet plan easily, you can just mix them with nuts to have a heart-healthy snack or add them to your morning oatmeal. In this way, your skin can be in good shape despite the menopause transition.
Women often lack iron and vitamin D, and eggs are a great help in providing those nutrients! What's more, they're a fantastic source of protein during menopause.
Bear in mind that to keep your body strong, you should eat a proper amount of protein! It is particularly essential during menopause when there are not enough female hormones in a woman's body and muscle mass along with bone strength decreases.
To fight back, you can add chicken to your menopause diet plan, as it is a healthy way to improve the protein amount in your organism without eating too much saturated fat.Â
It is also a great idea to include dairy products in your menopause diet because they include a lot of vitamin D, protein, and calcium, and they can positively influence your sleep quality.Â
There was a study showing that yogurt and other dairy products are good for both women who are before menopause and during it (source).
Namely, it can decrease the risk of early menopause by 17% and help to alleviate some unpleasant symptoms of menopause. Also, yogurt contains probiotics which improves immunity, digestion, and skin. So, consider adding it to your best diet for perimenopause as well!
Flax can be a small seed, but it's really powerful! It's not only packed with omega-3s but also B vitamins, phytoestrogens, and fiber. A study has shown that thanks to flaxseed consumption, menopause symptoms were reduced, and quality of life was improved in a group of 140 women (source).
Moreover, another study has proven that there are links between eating flaxseed and alleviating hot flashes (source). Therefore, you really shouldn't forget to include it in your menopause diet sheet!
Soy should be a very important element of the menopause diet because it's a phytoestrogen. This is a plant-based compound that acts similarly to weaker estrogens in the woman's body. It may support the easing of menopause symptoms.
However, it is recommended you avoid highly processed soy foods and preferably eat tofu, tempeh, edamame, and plant-based dairy using soy as an alternative.
Green tea is often praised for its weight loss improving properties, but in fact, it does so much more for our nutrition as well! It's certainly a fantastic idea to replace the sugary and/or caffeinated hot beverages in your diet with this one as it provides a wide range of health benefits.Â
In 2009, there was a study showing that green tea supports bone metabolism, making them less prone to fractures, which is vital for women on menopause (source).
Also, have you heard that matcha is the only form of tea where the actual leaves are ingested? As a result, it can provide you with even more antioxidants than usual green tea. An option certainly worth considering then!
Oatmeal is often called "the breakfast of champions," and that's for a reason! Oats help you manage weight and prevent constipation. And they're one of the most affordable kinds of healthy food!
During menopause, oatmeal can also help women keep their energy levels steady. Moreover, eating it with other menopause diet essentials like flax, yogurt, and berries can make a super-boost meal for your nutrition!
There are other foods to avoid menopause weight gain that are worth adding to your menopause belly fat diet plan - read our guide to learn more! For now, let’s look at specific diets you might consider as you navigate this journey ahead.
If you're looking for a fixed diet plan for menopause belly fat and side effects alleviation, these three are certainly worth considering!
The most well-known benefit of the Mediterranean Diet is decreasing heart disease risk and improving overall health, but medical research also shows that it can be used as a menopause diet for weight loss (source). What's more, it helps to fight obesity also if you're male or female at a younger age.
Plant-based diets are well-known for their weight-losing properties in general (source). Furthermore, there have also been studies showing that eating vegan food can be beneficial, particularly to postmenopausal women, helping them to deal with menopause weight gain and improve their health (source).
However, if you aren't fond of a strictly plant-based diet, keep in mind that a more flexible vegetarian approach that allows for eating eggs and dairy also has been proven to affect aging women positively (source).
Low-carb diets are highly appreciated for their weight losing and belly fat-reducing properties in general, so you can also follow one as the menopause diet for you.Â
Peri- and postmenopausal women have been included in only several studies on these diets, but one of them showed they lost 7% of their body fat, 3.7 from their waist, and 21 lbs from their weight in just 6 months (source). Sounds very promising!
The menopause diet plan shouldn't include too much of:
As you can see, they are just the usual things always advised to avoid if you want to maintain a lifestyle that's beneficial for your health.Â
Obviously, consuming them in small amounts won't affect your quality of life that negatively, but remember to control their intake, particularly during menopause!
Of course! One of the important tips to deal with weight gain, hot flashes, poor sleep, and other side effects of menopause is to use safe and approved supplements to boost your nutrition, such as Provitalize Probiotics for Menopause Weight Gain. For even improved effects in losing weight and improving your well-being during menopause, we have prepared a Slim Gut Bundle.
We use natural ingredients such as turmeric, curry leaf, moringa leaf, and other herbs for menopause weight gain that help your body go through menopause as easily as possible.Â
We also add beneficial probiotics for weight loss and a suite of other benefits. Wait…can probiotics cause weight gain? Yes, but this isn’t a concern with Provitalize because we have formulated our supplement with the best probiotics for belly fat. Our guide to the lactobacillus gasseri benefits breaks this down in greater detail.
The menopause diet you decide to follow can be amazingly supported by such supplements!
We know what you’re thinking…is provitalize safe? Yes - there are no concerning side effects to worry about as the Provitalize ingredients list is entirely safe. Trust us - you’d be hard-pressed to find a negative Provitalize review! Take a look and see for yourself.
After helping millions of women shed unwanted weight, it’s clear this is the best supplement for menopause weight gain. Even without a menopause belly fat diet plan, it will help you love the woman you see in the mirror again. But when combined with the right diet? The results are incredible!
Experience the weight transformation you’ve been dreaming of. Order Provitalize today and follow the right diet plan for menopause belly.
This transition period is quite a challenging time for your aging body - you may experience bone weakening, poor sleep, hot flashes, increased weight gain, and other unpleasant side effects.Â
For this reason, it is certainly worth choosing and following a menopause diet meal plan. Weight loss along with improved muscle mass can be one of its main aims, but it'll also help you keep a well-balanced lifestyle in general.
Take into account that every meal matters, and try to compose them reasonably, using many fruits and vegetables, whole grains, eggs, and other foods we mentioned in the tips above. Try to keep your drinks caffeine-free, or at least limit their intake.Â
It would also be beneficial to control the consumption of alcohol, fatty meats, and other foods that are not beneficial for your body. As such an approach is very good for your health, you can keep it for longer - it can work well as your post-menopause diet, too!
You can learn more about how to stop menopause weight gain in our blog. We have supporting resources on topics like dealing with menopause and sugar cravings, the cause of rapid aging after menopause, what signals the end of menopause, how to choose the best probiotic for menopause belly, and more.
But at this point, it’s time to get out a list and jot down the groceries you need to buy to start your new menopause diet plan.
To improve the effects, prepare a regular exercise plan as well, and use supplements based on natural ingredients such as Provitalize. We hope that with our tips, you will be able to avoid most side effects. Good luck!