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Does this sound familiar? You eat well and exercise often just like you have always done, but you are still gaining weight? This situation seems to be a common theme for women over 40, but the question is: Why? Is it hormonal? Lifestyle changes? Genetics? Food? Exercise? The answer to all of those is yes. There is this perfect storm created from numerous age related factors that may cause women to gain weight in midlife and beyond.

A recent study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine noted that weight gain in midlife has become such a serious issue that national guidelines are being put in place to help prevent it.  The study shows that women gain weight at an average of 1.5 pounds per year during midlife. It recommends that guidelines include early intervention with a mixture of behavioral counseling, lifestyle planning and nutritional counseling.

What are the factors that can cause this weight gain in midlife women? They include, but are not limited to:

• Menopause and Hormones: One of estrogen’s many jobs is to regulate metabolism and body weight.  A lack of estrogen and progesterone can cause your body composition and the distribution of your weight to change. As the estrogen (estrodial) decreases in Menopause and your metabolism changes, weight can start to accumulate especially around the middle section. This “visceral” stomach fat is unhealthy for a number of reasons including heart problems, type 2 diabetes, breathing problems and increased risk of cancer.
• Declining Muscle Mass: Adults lose up to 3% of their muscle strength every year. Muscle Loss, also know as Sarcopenia, becomes more common for people over 50 because your body becomes resistant to normal growth signals.  Once the balance of those growth signals slows down, muscle loss can occur.  Factors also affecting muscle loss can include a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet (not enough protein), inflammation and severe stress. (Healthline)
• Increasing Fat: As you age, your fat mass increases.  Since fat is not as metabolically active as muscle, you need less calories to maintain fat.  Additionally, your metabolism slows down and as a result, you need to process less calories.  This is why you may be eating the same, but still gaining weight. (Banner Health)
• Genetics: Research shows that genetics has an influence on weight but to what degree may vary from person to person.  Genetics also helps in determining individual factors for weight loss such as body composition, energy output, appetite and fullness. It is also important to note that genetics alone will not determine weight gain or loss. (Mayo Clinic)
• Unhealthy Eating: What you are eating can have a direct impact on your weight gain.  How much of your diet comes from processed foods, sugar and high in saturated and trans fats?  The higher the percentage, the more weight you gain.  Protein is invaluable for each meal with women needing 25mg and men needing 30mg per meal.
• Lifestyle changes:  As we age, many people decrease exercise and movement.  A sedentary lifestyle can be dangerous not just because of weight gain but can increase your cardiovascular problems. You may need to change up your exercise routine to include more strength training, weight bearing exercises and balance movement.  As you body ages, you need different exercise routines to maintain muscle mass.
• Lack of Proper Sleep:  The CDC states that you should get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.  The less you sleep, the more you tend to snack.

Now that we know many of the factors, what can we do to help prevent weight gain in midlife?

First, look at what you are eating.  Your diet should be high in protein and fiber. Are you getting 25mg of protein in each breakfast, lunch and dinner? Sugar can account for almost 300 calories a day in your diet so try to have the sweet choices in moderation; and yes, that includes alcohol.  The Mediterranean Diet is recommended by several nutritionists as a healthy nutrition plan and it includes a lot of plant based foods such as fruits, vegetables, potatoes, whole grains and beans.  The Mediterranean Diet also suggests moderate amounts of lean poultry, fish and eggs.

While making modifications to your diet, it is also important to maintain a healthy gut.  Foods that can damage you gut include salty, sugary, or fatty processed foods.  You want to include fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts in your diet for a healthy gut.  Try to get most of your vitamins from food, supplementing only for the amount between food intake and the recommended daily amount.  Remember to always check with your doctor before making significant changes to your food or nutrition plan.

When it comes to exercise, the American Heart Association suggests adults:

• Get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week.
• Add moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity (such as resistance or weights) on at least 2 days per week.
• Spend less time sitting. Even light-intensity activity can offset some of the risks of being sedentary.
• Gain even more benefits by being active at least 300 minutes (5 hours) per week.
• Increase amount and intensity gradually over time.
• Osteoporosis is also a factor in midlife.  When considering forms of exercise to choose, it is important to add weight bearing and balance exercises to any program.

While weight gain in midlife is common; it is not inevitable.  You may need to change your eating habits and exercise routine to address the changes in your body.  Restriction in your diet and excessive exercise are actually counterintuitive and may even cause more serious problems.  Your health over an arbitrary number on the scale becomes vital as you age.

Research:

Menopause Weight Gain: Stop the Middle Age Spread, Mayo Clinic

Can Estrogen Affect Weight Gain, Medical News Today

How to Stop Gaining Weight As You Age, Banner Health

Unique Gut Microbiome Patterns Linked to Healthy Aging, National Institute on Aging

How to Fight Sarcopenia, Healthline