LOVE YOUR post-menopause body

THE CHANGE OF LIFE CAN BE A BIG TRANSITION AND ACCEPTING HOW YOU NOW LOOK AND FEEL MAY NEED SOME RE-ADJUSTING

For some women, going through menopause feels like moving into an unrecognisable body.

Many women experience weight gain at menopause, particularly around the abdomen. Factors contributing to this include declining oestrogen levels, age-related loss of muscle tissue, diet and insufficient exercise. While it’s important to maintain a healthy weight, preserving the same figure after menopause is usually unrealistic. But it is possible to embrace your post-menopause body – without resorting to unhealthy dieting or punishing exercise regimes.

NO SATISFACTION

While poor body image was previously seen as afflicting just teenagers and young women, we now know post-menopausal women are affected at the same rate, explains Sharryn Muir, a clinical psychologist.

In fact, a study published in 2011 in the journal Clinical Psychology Review indicated that many factors associated with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in middle-aged women are similar to those in younger women.

“Significant evidence suggests that negative body image is constant across a woman’s lifespan,” says Sharryn. “Collectively, research indicates that 80% of women are unhappy with their bodies.”

She explains that western cultures generally equate beauty with youth and thinness. Therefore, as women’s weight can increase with menopause, so does the discrepancy between actual and idealised body image.