Determining Your Menopause Dietstyle

When you follow the Menopause Dietstyle  program you are taking responsibility for your own body and body image. Once you determine your Dietstyle Program, learn the total number of calories you can consume, and select the number of calories you will expend through exercise—you can then forget about counting calo­ries! It’s easy. We will teach you how to customize your dietstyle through appropri­ate food allowances and exchanges. Once you start doing this repeat­edly, you will soon be able to judge portion size by sight. The ability to “judge” a portion will become second nature: Half orders and shared orders will become an integral part of your home and restau­rant dining. Of course, no one should begin any dietstyle or exercise program without consulting her physician.

Before you can individualize your dietstyle, it is important to know where in the Menopause Dietstyle you should begin. So, it’s time to categorize yourself. Be honest. Using your current weight and your current exercise program, put yourself in one of the three catego­ries listed below.

Average/Active

Are you of average body weight and an active exerciser? Find out by checking your weight range prescribed by your height and body build in the weight chart.

Is your minimum output of exercise at least thirty minutes, four times per week, at 60 percent to no more than 75 percent of your maximum heart rate? (That rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220 and taking 60 to 75 percent of that number.) Thus, if you are fifty years old, you do the following equation:

220 – 50 (your age) = 170 (your maximum heart rate)

Now, take 60 percent of 170 and you learn that 102 is the lowest number of heart beats per minute that you should aim for when doing aerobic exercise. Take 75 percent, which is 128, and never exceed that number. Calculate your rate now. If, after doing your calcula­tions, your answer to both these questions is yes, you fit comfortably into the Average/Active Dietstyle category and you can consume up to 2,000 of the right calories per day to maintain your current weight.

A woman falls into this category if she does not exercise three to four times per week for at least thirty minutes at 70 to 80 percent of her maximum heart rate on a regular basis. Here, the operative word is regular. If you are this woman, the consumption of 1,600 calories per day should maintain your average body weight. A change in your exercise pattern from occasional to active will create significant weight loss.

Overweight/Nonexerciser
This category is for women who are 25 percent above their average, or ideal, body weight. This dietstyle will enable you to achieve significant weight loss. It is impor­tant to understand the unalterable fact that 3,500 calories constitute one pound of body weight. Therefore, in order to lose one pound of body fat per week, you must consume 3,500 fewer calories per week. The most you should ever try to lose per week for a healthful and long-term effect is two pounds, which means eliminating 7,000 calo­ries per week through diet or burning more calories through in­creased exercise. Once you fully understand the expenditure of calo­ries through exercise, you can understand the whole secret of weight loss. No magic, just mathematics! As a woman in this category of the Dietstyle, you will need to drop your calorie intake to 1,000 calories per day and add exercise to your daily routine. If you are more than 40 percent over your desired body weight, for faster weight loss you can drop to the 800-calorie-per-day dietstyle and add regular exercise to your program until you reach your appropriate weight. Then return to the 1,000-calorie dietstyle. You should never consider eating fewer than 800 calories per day, and these calories need to be carefully balanced between the six basic food groups.