Your body's metabolism changes as you move into middle age. As you age, your body burns calories much more slowly (some studies say by as much as 4 to 5 percent) as each decade passes. So, instead of burning off the calories that you eat, your body converts them into fat. You may feel as though you aren't eating any more, and may actually feel you are eating less, but your body's furnace just needs less fuel to perform the same functions.

Although you may think you are always on your feet and very active, many people slow down a bit as they move into middle age — running fewer errands, doing less physical work around the house, and so on. All of these factors contribute to unwanted weight gain during peri-menopause and after menopause.

Beating the Odds

As if a slowing metabolism isn't enough of a challenge, there are other conditions of aging and menopause that may make weight gain more likely. First of all, you may be more sedentary as you get older. Your job may require being confined to a desk, or without kids to chase around you may find yourself sitting on the couch watching TV. This is not a pattern that helps you burn calories. And if you develop diabetes or have painful conditions like arthritis or joint pain, you will be even more reluctant to move around, thus slowing your metabolism even more.

Although it may seem discouraging to consider all the reasons that make it difficult to lose or maintain weight, it is also the perfect opportunity to take a hard look at how you want to live the next years of your life. This may be just the time that you finally decide to become more active and eat healthy foods, since you can't count on a young metabolism to take care of those extra calories. Diet and exercise are discussed later in this book, but weight gain is a physical symptom of menopause that you can address directly with enough support and information.

Is It All in My Genes?

Weight problems are so common in this country that you cannot pass a grocery checkout or newsstand without seeing numerous articles on weight loss (usually in the same magazines with recipes for cake!). Most people have an ambivalent relationship with food, using it to comfort, nourish, and reward themselves. At the same time, they aspire to be as willowy as the models they see on the covers of those same magazines. Your body weight is a combination of food habits, genetic makeup, and activity levels. It's true that you inherit many influences on your weight, such as tendencies to gain or not, how we process and burn calories, and likelihood of getting obesity-related diseases. You can't change your genetic makeup any more than you can change your eye color. But you do have control over what and how much you eat, how much you move, and your attitude toward fitness. Those “changeable” factors are the focus of later chapters, and they are your best bets for getting and keeping a healthy weight.