I have heard this many times. “I hit menopause and BAM! The weight started piling on.”

Does it sound familiar to you? If you answered yes, then keep reading. There is hope and it does not come in a bottle. Well, maybe a bottle of Perrier.

When our hormones go crazy, one of the main functions our liver performs is to remove excess hormones from our body. Lots of water helps, but also a variety of minerals that support the detox stages of the liver.

Selenium is one of those minerals. A great source can be found in Brazil nuts. Three to five of these wonderful nuts a day can give your liver the boost it needs to flush more hormones out of the body, along with other toxins.

When you need more energy throughout the day but are afraid to eat because everything sticks to your thighs or hips, eat more often. You’ve heard that before, right? Good is true. Whenever you eat, your body goes into a state called thermogenesis. This increases your metabolism so you can burn more calories.

How often should you eat? I tell my clients that every 2.5 to 3 hours works best. It helps control blood sugar so you don’t have those energy spikes and valleys. Here are some suggestions that will keep you energized without coffee or excessive amounts of sugar.

1. Eat a good breakfast every day that contains egg protein, Greek yogurt, turkey sausage, whey, or rice protein. For vegetarians you can have hot quinoa cereal with almond or rice milk. Beans and rice with avocado and salsa can also work well, but be careful with all the starch. It can bring you down in as little as forty-five minutes.

2. Stay hydrated by drinking half your body weight in ounces of water a day. Start by finding out what that number is. It is your personal water formula. If you weigh one hundred and forty pounds, you’ll want to drink seventy ounces of water a day. Maybe you weigh so much more that you can’t imagine drinking half your weight in ounces of water a day. Then start with your IDEAL body weight and divide it in half.

3. Make your snacks count. Celery and hummus, nut butter or egg salad will work well for a mid-morning snack. You can make a snack that has a little protein and some nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits or vegetables. I like carrot sticks for the crunch and hummus for the texture. Sometimes I eat red bell peppers, which are high in antioxidants. I often wrap a slice of turkey or a stick of cheese in several lettuce leaves, roll it up, and eat it with some sauce. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. Skip the coffee and grab green tea, another antioxidant-rich option.

4. A light dinner will help you through the night and keep you from gaining pounds. If you plan a salad for dinner every night, or grilled vegetables with just three ounces of fish or chicken, he’ll have more energy for a walk, gardening, or playing with the grandkids. If you feel hungry later in the evening, have a piece of fruit. My clients seem to like grapefruit at night, which is great as long as you’re not taking statins or other drugs that can be affected by grapefruit. Check with your doctor or pharmacist.

5. Excessive exercise can also increase weight gain. That sounds counter-intuitive, I know. The point here is to avoid inflammation. That can cause inflammation of the tissue. Instead of doing a lot of cardio, which is great for reducing stress, try walking and strength training with lighter weights. Try yoga to reduce stress.

Do these five things for three to four weeks and see if your weight gain stops and you start adjusting to your smaller clothes again. I bet you will love the results.