Wondering how your metabolism in menopause shifts and what you can do about it? Read on to find out to find how tracking your metabolism can help!
Metabolism in Menopause: How the Lumen Device Can Help!
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how the Lumen device can help boost your metabolism during menopause, offering insights into hormonal changes, weight management, and the science behind metabolic flexibility.
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Understanding Menopause and Metabolic Changes
Menopause brings a whirlwind of changes, and your metabolism isn’t spared from the shake-up. As estrogen levels roller coaster in phase one of perimenopause and then take a nosedive in phase 2, many women find themselves battling the dreaded menopausal weight gain. It’s not just about the numbers on the scale, though – your body’s entire energy-burning process gets chaotic.
Recent research using the Lumen device has shed light on how menopause and the cycle affect metabolic flexibility. Interestingly, women using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) showed different CO2 patterns compared to those who weren’t, hinting at hormones’ crucial role in metabolism. This study also found more details on metabolic shifts throughout the cycle—more on this below.
These insights open up new possibilities for managing perimenopause weight gain and metabolic health during the post-menopause phase.
Overview of Menopause Symptoms and Metabolic Impact
Menopause isn’t just about hot flashes and mood swings. It’s a whole-body experience that can throw your metabolism for a loop (check out my video on the 34 symptoms of perimenopause and menopause to learn more!)
The metabolic slowdown that often accompanies perimenopause and menopause can lead to:
- Unexplained weight gain, especially around the midsection
- Increased difficulty losing weight
- Changes in energy levels and sleep patterns
- Shifts in how the body processes carbohydrates and fats
These changes can be frustrating, but they’re not insurmountable. Intermittent fasting in menopause has shown promise for some women, while others find success with targeted nutrition and exercise plans tailored to the metabolic shifts.
The Role of Hormonal Changes in Weight Gain
So, to review, the years leading up to menopause throw our hormones into chaos, and our waistlines often bear the brunt. Estrogen and Progesterone changes can make a big difference in how our bodies handle weight. This hormonal roller coaster can lead to:
- Increased fat storage, especially around the midsection
- Reduced muscle mass, slowing down our metabolism
- Changes in insulin sensitivity, affecting how we process carbs
Introduction to the Lumen Device
Enter the Lumen device, a handheld metabolic tracker. This nifty gadget is like a personal trainer for your metabolism, helping you understand how your body burns fuel. Lumen’s breath analysis technology measures CO2 levels to determine whether you’re burning fats or carbs, giving you real-time insights into your metabolic state.
As of the writing of this blog, Lumen has empowered over 100,000 members to reach their health goals, with some impressive success stories from menopausal women. The device’s ability to track metabolic changes over time makes it particularly valuable for those navigating the hormonal rollercoaster of perimenopause and the slowing of the metabolism in menopause.
By providing personalized nutrition recommendations based on your metabolic data, Lumen can help you make informed decisions about your diet and exercise routine.
How the Lumen Device Works
The Lumen device uses a technique called respiratory exchange ratio (RER) to decode your body’s fuel preference. Here’s the lowdown:
- Breathe into the device for 10 seconds
- Lumen analyzes your breath’s CO2 concentration
- It determines if you’re burning fats or carbs
The fasting breath is the most essential breath you can take when using the Lumen device. When fasting you want to have a Lumen score of a 1 or 2, as this shows you are burning fat at rest.
But burning fat 100% of the time is not your goal. If you are constantly in fat-burning mode, you will hurt your mitochondria, the powerhouse of your cells. Fats are burned to maintain energy during rest or fasting periods. You also want to be burning fats during longer duration exercise.
Higher scores like a 3 or 4 are more common and expected after certain workouts and after meals. These higher scores would indicate you are burning carbs. Your body only has a certain amount of carb stores, so to conserve these limited stores, your mitochondria prefer using fats for endurance-type exercise and using carbs for activities like sprinting, weightlifting, or whatever requires quicker bursts of energy.
After a carb-rich meal, your mitochondria convert carbs to fuel for quick energy- whether for shorter duration exercise or even during peaks of stress or during illness.
Lumen Scores across the Menstrual Cycle
Recent research on CO2 breath results via the Lumen device throughout the menstrual cycle show:
- A cyclic pattern characterized by a significant increase in CO2 levels during the estrogenic (early menstrual cycle) and ovulation phases, followed by a decline during the post-ovulation and pre-menstrual phases.
- Applying this research to day-to-day life could indicate that women should eat a lower carbohydrate diet during the first phase of their cycle until just after ovulation and then eat a higher carbohydrate diet in the second half of their cycle.
More research is needed to confirm this information but other studies have shown that adding supplemental progesterone lowers exhaled CO2 levels. As noted above, the higher a Lumen score the higher the exhaled CO2 level is.
When considering declining progesterone levels in perimenopause, along with the most common presentation of phase 1 perimenopause as estrogen dominance, we can hypothesize that estrogen dominance in perimenopause can lead to a higher exhaled CO2 and, therefore, in a state of carb-burning more often than not. This would indicate that women in early perimenopause could benefit from a low carbohydrate diet. Using a Lumen device in perimenopause can help determine what days a woman would need to eat lower carb diet, and what days she may need to cycle in higher carb days.
Lumen Scores in Menopausal Women With and Without HRT
The Lumen device research has also revealed some insights into how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) affects metabolism during menopause.
By detecting changes in metabolic fuel usage through CO₂ signals in the breath, Lumen’s research also found that:
- Menopausal women experience reduced metabolic flexibility (as expressed by limited morning fat burn). Healthy, well-rested mitochondria should burn fat in the morning since fat is preferred to carbs as fuel when at rest or fasting.
- HRT helps menopausal women move into morning fat burn, indicating improved metabolic flexibility.
- The first finding directly aligns with the fact that the most common symptoms of menopause reflect poor mitochondrial health and poor metabolic flexibility/health as a result.
The recent study noted above analyzing CO2 patterns showed that menopausal women using HRT had lower CO2 levels compared to their non-HRT counterparts. This suggests HRT users might have a metabolic edge in managing menopausal weight gain.
Though HRT might not be the best option for every woman, it can be beneficial for metabolism shifts in some women. However, discussing your unique health history with your medical provider is essential before considering starting HRT.
Get your Lumen device here with my discount link using code DRSM!
Future of Metabolic Health Management in Menopause
The horizon of menopausal health management is looking brighter, thanks to research, new tech, and devices like Lumen. As we dive deeper into the metabolic intricacies of menopause, personalized approaches are becoming the norm.
Experts predict a shift towards AI-driven health coaching, combining real-time metabolic data with hormone tracking for a holistic approach.
Predictive Insights on Lumen’s Role in Menopause Management
The research findings above present an opportunity for women to track and measure their metabolism and improve their quality of life with individualized lifestyle recommendations around nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management.
This can help women overcome the common bothersome symptoms of menopause, including:
- Body composition issues:
- Muscle mass breakdown. It is common for women to lose 3-5% muscle mass/decade from age 35 on, leading to fewer mitochondria and diminished fat-burn capability.
- Increased cortisol levels, leading mitochondria to prefer carb burn and resulting in increased belly fat.
- A decline in metabolic rate leading to weight gain.
- Sleep disruption:
- Reduced insulin sensitivity, leading to unstable blood sugar levels, including blood sugar drops at night that disrupt sleep.
- Increased cortisol also makes it hard to fall asleep, disrupting your internal clock and making it harder for mitochondria to self-repair
- Energy and mood issues
- Reduced mitochondrial health impacts overall energy levels, making it harder for menopausal women to function well and feel their best.
- The HRT findings in the Lumen study mean that healthcare professionals can help close the care gap, optimizing hormonal treatment plans (when appropriate) to address individual metabolic needs and improve body composition, sleep, and energy issues
Metabolic tracking devices like Lumen could become a cornerstone of personalized care. By tracking metabolic patterns unique to menopausal women, Lumen may soon offer tailored strategies for managing those pesky hormonal fluctuations.
Devices like the Lumen could also help women in how they approach intermittent fasting in menopause, providing real-time feedback on fasting’s metabolic impact.
Potential Developments and Technological Advancements
The future of Lumen and other metabolic tech devices looks bright.
Imagine a metabolic tracking device that syncs with your smartwatch, tracking not just CO2 levels but also heart rate variability and sleep patterns. It might even suggest optimal times for intermittent fasting based on your unique metabolic rhythm. The possibilities could also include:
- AI-powered meal planning tailored to your metabolic state
- Real-time exercise recommendations based on fat-burning efficiency
- Personalized hormone therapy adjustments guided by metabolic data
These devices already touch on the first two- but even more individualized recommendations are definitely coming in the future!
Conclusion
The Lumen device offers a truly unique approach to managing metabolism during perimenopause and menopause. By providing real-time insights into your body’s fuel usage, it can empower women to take control of their metabolic health. This recent research, based on over 3,000 women has validated its effectiveness, particularly for those dealing with cyclical period shifts in metabolism, as well as women using or not using HRT.
As technology advances, metabolic tracking devices’ role in personalized menopause management is set to grow.
You may also like:
What No One Tells You About Cortisol and Estrogen Dominance
Ultimate Guide: How to Stop Menopause Bloating
A Complete Guide: How Does Perimenopause Affect You?
7 Sneaky Signs of Estrogen Dominance in Perimenopause
Best Menopause Tea for Hot Flashes, Energy, and Menopause Belly!
Dr. Shelley Meyer is a board-certified family physician and Institute of Functional Medicine-certified functional medicine physician, as well as a Registered Dietitian. She is passionate about helping women navigate the roller coaster of perimenopause and postmenopause. She has her own Functional Medicine Practice in Denver, Colorado.
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