Weight Gain During Menopause: Is It Inevitable?

I have been receiving lately frequent inquires from my female clients about the many changes their bodies go through with time. I consider very important that all of us learn and prepare ourselves for those coming changes in our bodies. My experience is that we can put ourselves ahead of those changes but only with dedication, commitment and the proper guidance. I’m enclosing an article that caught my attention and I would like to share it with you.

Weight Gain During Menopause: Is It Inevitable?
On average, American women gain about a pound a year between their mid-40s and their mid-50s—the time of life that matches up with the years just before and after menopause. It's enough to make a levelheaded woman suspicious: Is rising weight due to dropping hormones?

That news may be hard to swallow for women who find their bodies changing just as menopause arrives. But those extra pounds at midlife—which bring with them an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers—are more likely due to aging than hormones.

As men and women get older, the number of calories their bodies use declines. Muscle, as anyone who's heard of resistance training knows, burns more calories than fat, even while people are at rest. Replace muscle mass with fat, and you burn fewer calories. Diet probably is not the sole explanation for midlife weight gain. What really seems to be the culprit is people's tendency to turn down their level of physical activity as they get older.
Research has found that women, who are physically active have less body fat, maintain smaller waists and gain less weight than those who are not physically active. "The message is people need to move,"
"They need moderate intensity activity on most if not all days of the week for a minimum of 30 minutes. By moderate intensity”
It also may help to realize that your exercise time "is time for yourself that you should guard jealously, It will help you feel well and good about yourself, and to be strong, fit and have a lot of energy."