The Paleo diet for weight loss in menopause: Paleozone

Losing weight in menopause is undoubtedly difficult, more than at a young age.

This is because the hormonal changes that women go through with menopause make them more resistant to the action of insulin, and more prone to accumulate fat around the waist (visceral fat).

Decreased production and then cessation of estrogen in women is associated with an increase in body fat and a decrease in lean mass. And according to some studies, even daily energy expenditure is reduced by more than 100 calories per day.

The distribution of body fat in women changes with menopause, affecting the belly more, as I said at the beginning, than the hips.

A very common thing that postmenopausal women tell me is that they have put on a stomach, in fact, and that despite being active as before or doing strenuous work, they tend to get fat.

A DIET FOR THE MENOPAUSE? TRY THE PALEOZONA

Now, a new study shows that the paleo diet produces a significant weight reduction in these women, allowing them to lose weight in menopause.
In a study conducted by a Swedish university it was found that women who followed a paleo-style diet lost two kilos more than those who followed the Nordic diet (similar to paleo but with wholemeal products such as rye bread etc.).
The suggested breakdown in macronutrients is similar to the Zone, in fact we speak of a “Paleozone”.
Carbohydrates at 40% of the daily requirement, proteins and fats at 30%.
Many people think that doing the Paleo diet means eating too much animal protein, but a balanced Paleo-style diet can instead involve a large consumption of vegetables and fruit in the first place. Dr. Tommasini, nutritionist,
talks about it well here .

The permitted foods are the following .

Vegetables, fruit, sweet potatoes and tubers or roots such as taro, beetroot, horseradish, non-intensive farmed meat (grass-fed, such as Piedmontese Fassona, Chianina, Irish or South American meat), non-feed-raised fish , seafood and shellfish, eggs, oil and butter, nuts and seeds, olives, dehydrated fruit with no added sugar, chestnuts, coconut flour, almond, walnuts and hazelnuts, pistachios, green banana and green plantain flour, flour and seeds carob beans, vegetable almond milk, coconut, walnuts and hemp.
Are excluded.
Legumes, peanuts (which are legumes), soy products (because they come from soy, therefore from a legume), dairy products and cheeses (an exception can be made for Greek yogurt), cereals, pseudo-cereals and sugar in all forms, apart from stevia and honey but in moderation. Butter is allowed in moderation, while extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, linseed oil are preferred. Raw cocoa and cocoa beans are also allowed.

In the study, the women followed did not eat a low-calorie diet, but the restriction of food allowed them to do a low-calorie diet, even without counting calories. This is because proteins have a satiating effect, and natural foods being richer in water and fiber, helping to satiate earlier. The ban on consuming baked and industrial products is also an advantage to be able to eat by reducing calories without realizing it.

A typical paleozone day could be the following.
Breakfast: chestnut flour and fruit muffins or two-egg omelette with almond butter and one fruit + vegetable almond milk.
Snack with a handful of almonds or walnuts.
Lunch and dinner with meat or fish, a large side dish of cooked and raw vegetables, a sweet potato or baked plantain.
Having said that, anyone wishing to take a more natural approach which however involves the exclusion of certain foods, has the duty to inform the doctor and be followed by a professional.
A nutritionist could offer you a similar approach, but customized to your needs, and with the “good” characteristics of the Paleo or Paleozone diet. That is a more natural regime, with a limitation of carbohydrates and above all of simple sugars, of industrial products, of over-processed foods.
For further information:
The weight loss scheme of the Whole 30 diet.