Today I had the opportunity to sit down with Katie Haney, a registered dietician currently practicing at Rdbyyourside Nutrition in Kirkwood. She specializes in weight management, obesity interventions, pediatric nutrition and some sports nutrition.

Today, I see so many middle age women who express having issues with their metabolism. It’s common for a women’s metabolism to slow down during menopause, which can result in significant weight gain. These women do everything right when it comes to their health — working out and eating healthy, yet they can’t seem to lose weight.

Kaite and I discuss this issue in depth to help those women navigate this new and often frustrating time in their life.

Q: Why can’t I lose weight even though I’m living a healthy lifestyle?

Menopause is a big transition period in a women’s life. One of the most frustrating parts can be the weight gain that often accompanies it. When women come to Katie with these frustrations, she makes sure to get more information about their habits since there’s a lot of different factors that go into living a healthy lifestyle.

First things first, it’s important to define what a healthy lifestyle actually is. A lot of times people will only associate weight loss with the food that they’re eating. Although this plays a major role, it’s also important for you to look at your exercise routine and sleep patterns.

Your Sleep Pattern

“Sleep and your circadian rhythm is so huge that it’s one of the first things we talk about. It’s important to make sure we're getting enough sleep because that allows your body to reset for the next day” says Katie. Although, maintaining a healthy sleep pattern is easier said than done, especially for menopausal women.

Common symptoms of menopause are night sweats and hot flashes. This can make it close to impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep. Many menopausal women will wake sporadically throughout the night and then feel exhausted the next day.

Your Mindset

A lot of weight loss is mental. Stress can have a huge impact on your appetite and ability to fall asleep. Also, if you keep telling yourself that you’re not making progress and are constantly thinking negative thoughts, you probably won’t. But if you have a positive attitude and more relaxed approach to the process instead, you’re much more likely to see results.

Your Diet

Healthy eating can feel a bit intimidating at first. There’s an endless amount of recommended eating patterns and “lose weight fast!” diet plans out there. It can be difficult to figure out where to even start. The truth is that everyone’s body is different. What works for you, may not be the best option for someone else and vice versa.

Although there are various diet options to choose from, there are still some overarching rules when it comes to what you eat. When talking with Katie, one of her main suggestions was mindful eating. This simply means eating with no distractions and paying attention to your body’s signals. If you’re body is telling you it’s full, then stop eating. When we’re wrapped up in a TV show or browsing the internet, we often don’t realize how much we’re consuming. This mindless overconsumption can lead to weight gain.

Your metabolism can also play a major role. Katie explained that measuring someone’s resting metabolic rate can be determined when put into an equation like the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. This equation is based on a bunch of algorithms and takes your age, gender, metabolic rate, activity level and other factors into consideration. More information on this topic and other healthy eating tips can be found in the video.

Your Exercise Routine

Your resting metabolic rate is constantly fluctuating and there are things you can do to increase it. One of those things is building muscle. It’s recommended to fit at least three days of weight lifting into your schedule. Now, if weight lifting isn’t your cup of tea or you simply just don’t have time to get to the gym three days a week, you also have the option to engage in quick cardiovascular and aerobic exercises. Although these type of exercises won’t increase your metabolism as much as weight lifting, they’re still good for you.

During our talk, Katie and I discussed how most adults have different preferences when it comes to working out. Some prefer short 30 minute workouts a few days a week, while others prefer a long 3 hour workout once a week. At the end of the day, your workout routine should be something that fits your schedule and is easy to stick to.

A: Healthy Living and Patience

You also have to remember that weight loss is a gradual process. No matter how healthy you eat, how often you exercise, how much sleep you’re getting or how positive you are, it will still take time for you to see any drastic changes. This can vary depending on the person, but healthy weight loss usually results in loss of about a half a pound to a pound per week. So our advice is simply to take care of yourself and be patient. Your persistence will pay off.

Dr. Becky Lynn is a gynecologist, menopause and sexual health specialist in St. Louis, MO.  She is licensed to practice medicine in Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois.  She she sees patients in her St. Louis office and offers telehealth consults to Illinois and Tennessee.  Call today to schedule your appointment.  (314) 934-0551 or click here to schedule.