We’ve created clever euphemisms to describe it – like muffin top, mid-life bulge, and a thickening waist. But however you want to refer to belly fat, it’s an unfortunate fact of life for most women in mid-life and getting rid of it is, as a friend of mine put it, like chiseling cement.
I’ve been in search of diet and exercise books to find the cause as well as a cure to belly fat and I came across From Belly Fat to Belly Flat: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waist and Subtracting Years from Your Life — the Medically Proven Way to Reset Your Metabolism and Reshape Your Body, by Dr. C.W. Randolph.
Dr. Randolph, a board certified OB-GYN, is well known for advocating the use of natural medicine to treat women’s health concerns and he has been a leading proponent in the use of human-identical hormones to treat symptoms of hormone imbalances. I contacted Dr. Randolph by email to ask about the connection between hormones and abdominal weight gain and how hormone-balancing can help. His responses follow:
Wendy: A lot of women begin complaining about abdominal weight gain, along with sleep problems and an inability to focus or concentrate in their 40s, but because they’re still getting their periods, they don’t attribute it to menopause. When do a woman’s hormone levels begin to get out of whack?
Dr. Randolph: In a women’s early to mid-30’s, progesterone levels are the first of the three sex hormones (progesterone, estrogen and testosterone) to decline. In fact, progesterone levels decline 120x more rapidly than estrogen levels. The result is a disequilibrium of estrogen to progesterone medically termed “estrogen dominance.” Too much estrogen with too little progesterone is the culprit responsible for the more subtle (or less well recognized/diagnosed) symptoms of hormone imbalance such as sleep disturbances, foggy thinking and abdominal weight gain. Dr. Erika Schwartz explains it well in her book, The Hormone Solution: Naturally Alleviate Symptoms of Hormone Imbalance from Adolescence Through Menopause”
No, you’re not losing your mind: you’re just losing your much-needed progesterone. When you don’t have enough progesterone circulating, estrogen is the dominant hormone. Estrogen in overabundance makes you angry, edgy, short-tempered and anxious. At the same time, estrogen increases the water content in your brain making you groggy, fuzzy and unfocused.
Wendy: The weight creep experienced in mid-life seems to land (and remain) right in our abdomen. Why is this?
Actually, hormone related abdominal weight gain typically begins in the early to mid-30s, coinciding with decline in progesterone production and the incumbent estrogen dominance. Medical research shows that the average woman will gain one to two pounds each year between the ages of 35 and 55 and these pounds will cement around the waist, butt and thighs.
Estrogen dominance is the culprit. To get and keep those pounds off, it is essential the optimum hormone balance be restored via bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). To accelerate the body’s off-loading of its extra estrogen, there are foods and supplements medically proven to help the body eliminate the extra estrogen.
Wendy: What types of foods do you recommend?
Dr. Randolph: The stars of my nutritional plan are cruciferous vegetables, citrus fruits, insoluble fiber and lignans because these foods will all function within the body to reduce an unhealthy estrogen load. The consumption of cruciferous vegetables is a critical pivot of my plan’s success.
In my next blogpost, I’ll list examples of the cruciferous vegetables that Dr. Randolph suggests. If you’ve tried Dr. Randolph’s estrogen-reducing diet, let us know if and how it’s helped you.
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been using 200mg of progesterone for 4 years and am 58 and still have my period every month. It has helped me in many ways but NOT AT ALL to lose weight around my middle or anywhere else. I do a low carb diet and I exersise. Also he recommends lignans as in flax which doesn’t make any sense because they cause the body to produce more estrogen and I quit taking it because of that. I take DIM everyday to get rid of excess estrogen..
I agree, that progesterone loss is responsible for weight gain. The key is to balance estrogen and progesterone as well as thyroid hormones and cortisol. For more information about hormone replacement therapy with bio identical hormones: http://www.doctorkalitenko.com/1-22-Rejuvenate_yourself
@Linda — My brain is probably just foggy from all this excess estrogen, but what is DIM?
Also, FYI, Ori Hofmekkler also has a book on this topic — The Anti-Extrogenic Diet.
oops — Anti-Estrogenic
DIM takes the excess used estrogen out of you liver so your body doesn’t have to store it
Copy and past DIM and you can findit online.
Thank you Jacqueline & Linda for your comments. I recently started taking DIM-plus, so I did some research to learn about it. DIM (diindolylemethane) is a phytonutrient found in cruciferous veggies (i.e. broccoli, cauliflower, and kale). Here’s what is written on the Nature’s Way DIM-plus box: DIM supports the activity of enzymes that improve estrogen metabolism. Scientific research shows diindolymethane increases the level of “favorable” estrogens (2-hydroxy-estrogen) while reducing the level of ‘less favorable’ estaogens (16-hyroxyestrogen). Hope that helps!
Thanks for this resource but it doesn’t address the issue of the post menopausal woman who is not on HRT.
DIM is great when you produce estrogen but what happens when you stop?
My research indicates that most estrogen now comes from your body fat once you pass beyond menopause. So how you going to shift that if you don’t want HRT?
Plus more fat is deposited on the stomach because of high cortisol levels (stress again) so the liver can use it fast. Except it never does becasue the cortisol is always high. Recent studies show promise of vitamin C as a cortisol modifier.
I have yet to find a website or information source devoted to post menopausal women and their body image problems i.e weight gain.
And what to do about it more’s the rub. I keep searching though …
live long. Live well.
Rick Rakauskas
Thanks for the info about DIM! I will look for it at my health food store.
My gynecologist recently prescribed testosterone cream, 2.5%, which I apply daily to my forearm – to treat my belly fat. Several months ago I stopped taking the BHRT gel which was a progesterone/estrogen combo. I started gaining weight using this combo. So, now – I’m using the testosterone cream. I am a 54 yr old post menopausal female. Any advice or research to show that testosterone cream will help belly fat or harm me?
Hi Judy – Thanks for your comment. I’d like to know the answer to that too, so I will seek out a response from a doctor who has experience with this. I also gained weight when I started taking BHRT, but not the combo gel. I only saw a drop in weight when I stepped up my exercise routine (duration & frequency). That just might be the only solution.
Hi. I’m 52 and had a complete hysterectomy 2 years ago due to endrometreosis. I have been on the Vivell 0.05 since (2 X weekly). It has helped with hot flashes, insomnia, mood swings (anger/saddness) and foggy thinking. I feel I need to get off of it and would like to use a natural alternative. What would you suggest? Also have put on about 20 lbs which I have really struggled to loss. Thank you for time and consideration.
Christy Willaims
I was using 200 mg of Progesterone and had acne for the first time in my life. – Pimples all over my cheeks. It looked awful. I had to reduce the dose to 100 mg a day. I have used bio- identical hrt for a year and a half and have not lost any weight. I use to be a very thin person 45 pounds ago. I’m 55 and have seen better days. I’m hoping by continued use, I’ll lose weight like Suzanne Somers says one will. That’s how I came about learning of bhrt.
I think the only solution is starvation and exercise. Maybe 700 claorie/day diet and workout like you are a teenager. So depressing. I hardly want to leave the house due to the sudden weight gain. I am so ashamed.
I had a complete hysterectomy 5 months ago. I am 50. I am taking a combination cream of estrogen, progeterone, and testosterone. The estrogen is for menopausal symtoms that would happen since they took my ovaries. The testosterone is for muscle loss that could happen since I am not making the testosterone from ovaries. They said that I need progesterone to help balance the hormones. All 3 are combined in a cream that I apply daily.
I have not gained any weight according to the scale, but I have gained several inches. I work out a lot and eat healthy.
Does anyone have any idea about the inches I have gained? The compound pharmacist said it is not from the hormones. It has just happened in the last 5 months.
To add to my last comment, the inches I have gained are all around my middle. It just hangs there. I have never had this issue before.
Hi Barb – As you can see from the number of comments on this blogpost about Belly Fat, you’re not alone. I had the same experience. After two decades at the same weight, my weight creeped up in a matter of weeks and like you, the weight seemed to land in the middle. I’ve been told that there are evolutionary explanations for why the fat in a woman’s body shifts to the waist and thighs once we are past child-bearing years. The book I mentioned in this blogpost should give a good explanation and recommendations for keeping it in check. Recently, I’ve had good results on a (mostly) vegan diet and finally lost the weight that I had gained due to menopause, but my shape has definitely changed. We might have to just re-calibrate our attitudes about self-image and aging. Not easy, I know. Thanks for you comment.
Thanks Wendy.
I still want to know from anyone if the hormones that I have been given since my hysterctomy (see above), are causing weight gain. It just came on all of a sudden since January when I had my surgery.
Barb
I too have way-excessive middle. 23 yrs ago I was diagnosed hypo-thyroid, taking Synthroid since then. Simultaneously, when thyroid went down, adrenals over-worked. Gallbladder removed 15 yrs ago. Now I’m 53, still have occassional periods, and BIG tummy! I used the Vivelle & progesterin tabs for 3 yrs. stopped them 1 yr ago. Now taking OTC Walgreens Estroven. What to do?
I had a complete emergency hysterectomy 2 years ago. I’m 5′ 8″ and
weigh 140. But, I’ve always weighed 128 to 132 for many years and never
worried about my weight. Now I have so much weight around my mid
section. I take a small amount (.45) daily of estrogen only. I don’t eat
any more calories and I exercise as usual. But, I’m going to have to change something……… I just don’t know what.
My estrogen is the lowest, .5mg, but it is added in a cream with testosterone and progesterone. I have decided , on my own, to decease the amount that I apply daily to see if it makes a difference. I tried that a week ago. It may be my imagination, but I think my middle is getting less thick. I have even eaten more with the holiday and all. If I start feeling hot flashes and such, I will go back to the original amount. I’ll let you know after being on a smaller amount for a while if indeed it did help.
Hi Barb – I will be interested in knowing if your symptoms re-appear with the reduction of estrogen. (By the way – I believe the lowest amount of the Vivelle Dot patch – which is estradiol only- is .025, then .0375). Thanks for your comments.
This “middle weight” is very upsetting; especially the dramatic increase in 3 months time for me. I am 51 and can’t wear any clothes and we all can’t just run out and replace our wardrobe! In one of Suzanne Somers’ books, one of the doctors she interviewed said that to prevent weight gain he adjusts the estradiol/estrone amount to 50/50. I’m going to try this through a compounding pharmacy. Forget Vivelle!!
M
Do you just take estrogen, or are you also taking testosterone and progesterone? I am taking all 3 compounded together. I have cut back by about a 1/3 and I’m getting hot flashes now. I decided to take over the counter estroven with soy and black cohash. We will see if that works.
I just don’t want to have the extra weight.
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Hi. I am 35 years old. Had a complete hysterectomy 5 months ago. I take estradiol as well as testosterone. I have always been physically fit but am now seeing my belly protrude and about 8 lbs heavier. Glad to know I am not alone
Hello,
I have had my thyriod killed by RAI and and an hysterectomy ay age 40 I’m now 54. Since I had the thyroid killed I went from an size 12 to 16. I tried every diet I can find and was told by my GP that I have no chance to lost this fat belly because of the thyroid being gone, plus the hysteredtomy.
Plus I just had two spinal surgries two years in a roll. WOW I need to get any advice on how to rid myself of this belly? HELP!!
I too have added over 20 lbs. since using Vivelle DOT. I am 52, have always been a size 8 or 10. Within 3 months of using Vivelle patch I am now a size 14-16. This is humiliating. Like someone else said, we all can’t go out and buy new clothes. I have never had a huge belly (have never had children either) and it is really depressing. I’m not a neurotic or vain woman but the fat is really gross and upsetting. No doctor I have spoken with has a clue either!!!
Hi M. – I also gained weight rather quickly when I used the Vivelle Dot, but only 5-7 pounds, which still took me a long time to shed. All I can say is eat less and exercise more and consider adding a nutritionist to your “team.”
I’ve been on BHRT for 2 weeks. Some remarkable changes in my body, I am very happy with that. My husband said that I should be the poster child for BHRT (must have something to do with my attitude change)
The one thing I’ve noticed is that I have broken out in my armpits wierd. Maybe it’s something else. Not sure. I am 50 and on very low doses of testosterone, estrodial and pregesterone.
I rapidly gained 40 lbs. at age 43. My ob/gyn tested me for a thyroid condition and found that I was in menopause. He prescribed Estratest and Norethindrone. I lost all 40 lbs in 4 months. Three years later I decided to go BHRT creams and the weight started coming back, not to the same extent, but mid-section weight. I just started back on Estratest, but switched to Prometrium for progesterone. No change in weight yet, but it’s only been 2 weeks. The Prometrium does help me sleep better. I read that Norethindrone has a higher androgenic effect so I’ll be curious to see if that’s the difference.
Cindy:
hi! Just wondering if you have any further results to report yet with trying the Estratest? I take the Vivelle Dot and Prometrium too. I’m on Vivelle 1.0 and am wondering if I should decrease the doseage or look for something new like the Estratest? I am 40 now but went into early menopause at age 37 and also had a complete thyroidectomy. SO, I have some things stacked against me. Can’t seem to lose any weight and it has been three years!!! I still consider myself young and I’m not ready for middle age spread yet! Let me know if you think the new medication is making a difference!
Hi Ann:
Estratest and Prometrium combination for six weeks now and gained six pounds..AAARRRGGHH!!!
Ob/gyn said, you’re 48 and should just accept your weight gain as natural…NATURAL?!!!. I am not naturally overweight. I practically had to force her to put me back on Norethindrone and pull a blood sample to check my levels. I’m a believer that estrogen dominance can cause this weight gain regardless of whether you are using synthetics or naturals. Will keep you posted.
Cindy:
Well, that’s ridiculous. I do agree that you have to really reduce what you eat to be very healthy and excercise much more, but I don’t think you have to just “accept” it! I have an appointment to talk to my OB/GYN about this issue soon and will let you know what I find out. Just to clarify, I’ve only gained about 7 lbs. however those are some seriously stubborn lbs and they are all in mid mid-section.
Ann
I struggled w/the same frustrating weight gain (particularly around the mid-section) until I found this terrific female doctor who specializes in NATURAL hormone replacement therapy, menopause, and weight loss. She is compassionate and really listens to me (unlike most typical MD’s who try to give you a quick-fix pill and rush you out the door!) Anyway, Dr. Fradin-Read at LifeSpan Santa Monica is the BEST w/menopause/women’s issues and weight loss…I highly recommend her!!
I had an elective surgery 3 years ago… and it up the balance of body
totally i told the doctor the next day …that i was not me … I truly felt changed immediatly after surgery… I was not menopausal or had no symptoms the day before the surgery.. the next day i had all of them.
i could accept it it was a gradual change but this was like running into a wall…i went in a matter of 1 day .. very happy, high sex drive… libido
next day no sex drive no libido brain fog … body temperature down by 3 degrees… i know because i have tracked my tempearature for 16 years… i used rhythm/cycling method…i am a person that execsised 5 times a week … yet i could not stop gaining weight.. my loss of joy
spontaniety, no desire, none of my clothes fit.. all my doctors dismissed me. Even the surgeon urged me to go else where I explained all of this in agonizin grave detail to my gyn .. she could have cared less. Its menopause deal with it… Menopuase overnigt….it happened overnight… Dr Erika Schwartz described it as Trauma induced Menopause she said it happened to her mother…after surgery for her appendix her body never recovered..its like shocked.. and she entered
menupause from the trauma of surgery… ok thats fine …but what about the mid section weight… i hit the gym 2x as hard… and i lost not one lb….i know from all my symptoms i have estrogen dominance… and are you ready for this as your body is doing every thing it can to feed its demand for estrogen by making you fat
.. did you know that you can still have low estrogen.. because its low from the beginning and your body is trying to make it from Fat you have estrogen dominace symptoms — becasue you also dont have enough progesterone they say it goes before the estrogen and your body does little to restore it ..for all the estrogen you are trying to make you and you still dont have enough — well it wont matter because you dont have enough progesterone to support it anyway…
The agony of this viciuous circle… i am praying for relief…. has anyone actually lost any weight on BHRT…. and didnt it require drastic changes to your diet… i had a resonably healty diet.. and was active… but even this is not enough to combat this MONSTER. My life partner for years has moved out … been put out some combination there of… because i am no longer at all the person I used to be …. so my life is hinging on the wing of a prayer.. my appoiment is in March 2010… i have to wait for my next cycle to test days 19-20 to do all my blood and saliva…. i will post then and keep all you in my prayers because I too understand how devastating this is ….my weight gain was so sudden its frightening…and its all abdominal and hips… i went from a size 8 – 12 in 6 months… i daily fight to hold 14 and i am loosing fast
my only hope is bhrt… so I am counting on this …..I will share everything….
Bee
I totally agree that a drop in progesterone is one of the major aggravators of the belly fat problem. It’s important to realize that belly fat per se is not the culprit of everyone’s health problems—rather, it’s a natural consequence of something bigger that occurs in all women as they progress through menopause.
One property of progesterone that not too many people know about is that it’s an upper airy muscle dilator. Essentially, it give the tongue more muscle tone. We also know that the human upper airway is prone to obstruction due to tongue collapse, mainly due to our ability to talk and modern human’s smaller jaws (due to a change in our diets and artificial feeding devices such as bottle, pacifiers, etc.).
This is why many women (and men) can’t sleep on their backs. When on their backs, the tongue falls back due to gravity, but when the jaw is smaller, it falls back even more. When you add muscle relaxation in deep sleep, it obstructs your breathing and you’ll wake up from deep sleep to light sleep, preventing efficient sleep. Chronic sleep inefficiency causes weight gain via all the known physiologic mechanism. Weight gain narrows the throat even more, and the vicious cycle continues.
Yes, I can relate alot to many of the comments here. I have suddenly develpoed a thick middle and belly fat after a lifetime of being slim and having a good metabolism thanks to my ancestors. After my period stopped, in 6 months…I don’t recognize my body! I also developed muscle pains, sleeplessness, and depression. Who is this person?
So I started taking DIM. Wow is all I can say! It has changed me for the better! Unless you’re eating totally organic you can pick up estrogens in your food and by using plastic. Pesticides are the culprit and can hide in non organic prepared foods as well as flour, grains, etc. Plastics also leach hormones into foods and liquids. Like bottled water? Give it up! I’m also concerned about GMO’s in food and am making an effort to reduce my intake as much as possible.
Vitacost has some good deals on DIM. There are lots of different brands and blends to choose from. Read the reviews. I feel like a different person…
No more hot flashes (used to wake up all night with these!), crying spells & depression, muscle & joint pains ( I thought I had arthritis!), and the belly fat is going. Be patient…it may take awhile for your body to readjust.
Best of luck!
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