Will crash diets work for weight loss after menopause?

Crash diets are not the answer for long-term weight loss.  They are a temporary solution and can be dangerous at any stage in life.  It is important to make lifestyle changes one at a time. Start with adding more activity in your day and modify portion sizes.  Eat using a smaller plate.  Substitute one unhealthy snack with a healthy snack.  It is always good to keep a food log so you can see how many calories you are consuming.  Many times we do not realize how much we are eating.  When you see it written down in a food log, it increases your awareness of exactly what you are eating.  It takes effort and discipline to make these changes but they are worth it and so are you.

When I hear crash diets I hear starvation or radical food changes. Starvation will always cause weight loss and menopause is irrelevant. The thing is our bodies must take in a base amount of calories every day to survive. Our bodies have functions going on 24/7 and these functions require energy to be performed. This is why we can generally determine someone's base metabolic rate or the amount of calories a person needs every day to maintain their current body weight. This number is a little different for everyone and menopause does affect hormonal balances and can create some shift in metabolic rate but this shift is minimal. The bulk of this shift actually comes from reduction in lean body mass by the time a woman reaches menopause. What needs to happen for anyone that wants to lose weight pre or post menopause is for a health professional to get an accurate body fat and body weight measurement use this information to help determine a base metabolic rate and then apply a smart eating and exercise program to achieve the client's goals. You can lose weight without crash dieting pre or post menopause.