Readings on Perimenopause from internet...

[Worfie500]

...and video "snipettes".

When my sister-in-law was in her mid-fourties she started really piling on the weight. Her mom, my mother-in-law, said she's probably heading towards menopause - to which she was shocked! "ALREADY???"- was her reaction... well...tommorrow I'll turn 45 and for the first time in my life I'm starting to get some tummy fat, am exhausted all if the time, my never ending energy is "empty", and my sleep and mood is pretty crappy, because I'm a grouch when I do not get enough sleep. This must be the onslaught for me, no nice easing in to menopause. I started reading what "experts"/MDs/woman sites had to say re: diet and weight management. I keep reading "lean protein at every meal" - meaning meat or dairy- , limit starchy carbohydrates - a total of 60 gm carbohydrates a day in fact - isn't that just a low carbohydrate diet? Is the real "secret" just lowering calorie intake? I watched something on MSNBC (?), a video snippette from the Today Show with two guests, one named Joy Bauer, RD - business woman. She said women need to lower their calories to 10 kilocalories/pound to stay at or get to their ideal weight - pretty sure that ís what she said - and pushed 5 meals, protein at each meal... I eat more like 2,500 calories and more easily and am not 250 pounds!

So what do you think about the "fight" against the slowing metabolism and menopause? Just fewer total calories and exercise, or maybe stressing a few less carbohydrates and pushing a little more protein? I'm expecting to read "low fat, whole food, plant-based diet"... the usual.

[JeffN]

Is the real "secret" just lowering calorie intake? .

Hi Worfie

The real secret is understanding what is going on and then addressing the real problem.

Research by the famous Dr. Ancel Keys at the University of Minnesota found that the energy requirement of fat-free body weight was remarkably constant for both men and women between the ages of 20 and 60 for all the subjects, no matter what their sex or age. The difference was that as people aged, they were less active.

This has been validated in many other studies...

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 82, No. 10 3208-3212 Regular Exercise and the Age-Related Decline in Resting Metabolic Rate in Women

"Our results are consistent with the concept that the age-related decline in RMR in sedentary women is not observed in women who regularly perform endurance exercise."

J Am Diet Assoc. 2001 Oct;101(10):1181-8. Effects of habitual physical activity on the resting metabolic rates and body compositions of women aged 35 to 50 years.

APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: This research supports and emphasizes the benefits of habitual physical activity in maintaining RMR and lower body fat levels in middle-aged women

Same thing in men....

Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Sep;281(3):E633-9.Age-related decline in RMR in physically active men: relation to exercise volume and energy intake.

"this decline is related to age-associated reductions in exercise volume and energy intake and does not occur in men who maintain exercise volume and/or energy intake at a level similar to that of young physically active men."

J Gerontol. 1991 Mar;46(2):B54-8. Relation of age and physical exercise status on metabolic rate in younger and older healthy men.

TEM was not related to age or body composition. A sedentary life style in older men may be associated with a lower RMR, ..... relative to younger men and older men who regularly exercise. Participation in physical exercise, regardless of age, is associated with a higher TEM.

So what do you think about the "fight" against the slowing metabolism and menopause? .

You mean the fight against increasing inactivity as people age?

When you know the problem, then you can address it. There is no physiological reason for this slowing to occur other than people themselves slow down and do less. The answer is to stay as active as possible, continue to be fit, and adjust caloric intake accordingly by following the same guidelines and principles advocated here, but adjusting calorie density if necessary to maintain a healthy weight.

I'm expecting to read "low fat, whole food, plant-based diet"... the usual.

How did I do?

In Health
Jeff