Struggling to lose weight during menopause? Fitness coach reveals two things that can help more than exercise and nutrition

Struggling to lose weight during menopause? Fitness coach reveals two things that can help more than exercise and nutrition (Picture Credit: Pexels)

Menopause is a crucial phase in a woman’s life, marked by several physical and psychological changes that impact overall health. Since it is often linked to weight gain, many women struggle to shed extra kilos despite focusing on exercise and nutrition.

Fitness coach and author of 'Simple, Not Easy’, Raj Ganpath, shared in a recent Instagram post that if you are going through perimenopause and looking to lose weight and improve your fitness levels, you need to look beyond exercise and nutrition.

Raj explained that this is a phase when women tend to get “extremely stressed” with their hands full. They juggle their career, friends, commitments, kids, partners, parents, and much more. On top of that, perimenopausal symptoms, including “fatigue, exhaustion, sleep disturbance, digestive discomfort, and joint pain,”add to the challenge.

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He added that while women try their best, they often notice their fitness progress is “really slow,” which makes them focus even harder on exercise and nutrition. However, he emphasised that the key lies in paying attention to the “enablers”that are aspects of life that make it possible to do the work needed to see progress, specifically, sleep and stress management.

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A post shared by Raj Ganpath (@raj.ganpath)

Importance of sleep

Talking about sleep, Raj said, “You need to understand that not sleeping well enough affects your ability to move, make good decisions, eat well, and everything else. So your first course of action should be to address this.” How? “By working on your sleep hygiene.” This includes:

1. Getting to bed a little earlier
2. Avoiding caffeine too late in the evening
3. Not stressing out late at night
4. Doing calming, relaxing activities
5. Cutting down screen time and avoiding looking at your phone late at night, even if you wake up in the middle of the night
6. Importance of stress management

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On stress, the fitness coach said, “There will always be stress, but you need to find ways to manage it. Every time you let stress get to you and you break down, you take two steps back. You eat badly, you sleep badly, you don’t move. Basically, all the lifestyle habits you’ve built, everything you want to do, gets disrupted because you cannot manage stress. So take your time and think about what you can do to improve your sleep quality and manage your stress better.”

Disclaimer: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don’t treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for specific health diagnosis.