Menopause and weight loss
mskurski
Posts: 31 Member
ladies, I know some of you may say TMI. But this is life and reality. When we go through the change, I am finding it harder to get these pounds off. It took me a week to get 1 pound off. There was a time, 9 yrs ago to be exact, I lost 65 lbs in 4 months w/out a lot of effort. Now I am staying w/in my diet, i excercise everyday and drink tons of water... But yet it takes a week to loose 1 lb? Anyone that is that time of life having this problem? Or is it my body punishing me Cuz I had it too easy before? Lol
Any suggestions to help get my metabolism going faster? I eat lots of protein already.
Any suggestions to help get my metabolism going faster? I eat lots of protein already.
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Replies
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1 Lb in a week is great. I aim for .5 lb a week. I'm in menopause, workout a lot and have gone down 9 lbs since Feb 16 (that's with a couple of "bad" weeks in the beginning included). I also started weight training 4x/wk 2 weeks ago. My clothes are getting looser, so I try not to focus on the scale. It can deflate me if I focus on that. I found that enjoying the process is inportant, so I make it as fun as possible. Best of luck to you.0
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Also, you may want to open your diary to get more help.0
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Losing weight has always been an effort for me. Just new to menopause, I am interested how things will change. From what I read the fat tends to congregate in the belly. I am still losing but like you, slowly.0
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Ok.. Thanks guys. Hopefully this is temp and will change in time. I am happy it's loosing, jist seems a lot more effort.0
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Well, I'll be 49 in July and I'm perimenopausal and I can tell you you're not crazy. It actually is more difficult to get weight off and keep it off. I've noticed all sorts of changes in my body as I've gotten older and how much harder it is to stay in shape.
I will say that one thing that helps is to add strength training. As you age you lose muscle mass, which can be problematic because having more lean muscle helps to burn more calories. So by adding strength training you can add lean muscle and help out your overall metabolism. I also have noticed through personal experience that I have to be much much cleaner and stricter with my eating. By cutting out processed foods you'll make it easier for your body to maintain consistency with how it uses fuel. Increasing protein intake also helps to maintain the lean muscle mass, which, again, helps the metabolism.
I also suggest cutting back on caffeine. As you age caffeine impacts hormones negatively and makes everything just more all over the place. Caffeine can also increase your level of cortisol, the stress hormone, which can make your body hold onto fat.
Anyway, just some information from my own personal experience. Hope it helps. I feel like my body is a science experiment sometimes.
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Also, I agree that making your diary public would allow others to provide feedback. Just go to "home", then "setting", then "diary settings" and you'll see an option to make it public instead of private. I'm not a nutritionist by any stretch of the imagination, but I would be happy to review your diary and offer some thoughts.0
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Well, I'll be 49 in July and I'm perimenopausal and I can tell you you're not crazy. It actually is more difficult to get weight off and keep it off. I've noticed all sorts of changes in my body as I've gotten older and how much harder it is to stay in shape.
I will say that one thing that helps is to add strength training. As you age you lose muscle mass, which can be problematic because having more lean muscle helps to burn more calories. So by adding strength training you can add lean muscle and help out your overall metabolism. I also have noticed through personal experience that I have to be much much cleaner and stricter with my eating. By cutting out processed foods you'll make it easier for your body to maintain consistency with how it uses fuel. Increasing protein intake also helps to maintain the lean muscle mass, which, again, helps the metabolism.
I also suggest cutting back on caffeine. As you age caffeine impacts hormones negatively and makes everything just more all over the place. Caffeine can also increase your level of cortisol, the stress hormone, which can make your body hold onto fat.
Anyway, just some information from my own personal experience. Hope it helps. I feel like my body is a science experiment sometimes.
Excellent tips! "science experiment" I feel this way as well. I started strength training 2 weeks ago. I'm so happy I did 0 -
By strength training, are we speaking lifting weights?0
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It's Now public. It was on just friends0
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I'm 56, post menopause, and I've lost 55 pounds since 9/2/14 (almost to goal). CICO, lower carbs , brisk walking. Nothing fancy. For too many years before this I told myself age made it too hard. Once I set my mind to it, my body followed suit. Be patient and best of luck to you.0
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I am taking HRT and I am losing weight very slowly. I definatley think its harder to lose now. If I do one pound a week Im chuffed. Will plod on slowly lol x
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Yeah, weight control is definitely harder for me at this point. I easily controlled my weight for the first 40 years (m/l) of my life. I'm sure it's partly lifestyle, but that wouldn't explain it all. And OMG the water weight fluctuations!! It makes it very hard to even tell when/if I'm losing fat.
I agree that strength training is important (it doesn't have to be weights, but it needs to be something) to prevent losing muscle and bone density. Aerobic exercise is also important as well as flexibility and balance. It doesn't have to hours a day, but it should be a few hours each week.
But, it is what it is. I have to work harder at it now, so I do.0 -
Harder but not impossible. I agree with the recommendations to incorporate strength training. CICO is definitely working for me. I told myself my days of losing weight were over now that I hit 50 and am definitely in the change. I'm so happy I didn't listen to myself and let the fear take over. 15 pounds down since January - and yes, I'm happy with slow and steady. Maybe it is just our mindset that needs to change. Dropping weight fast isn't the way to do it.0
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I am 64 and have always been small 5'3" and around 120 lbs as a young adult, but as a mature woman it is a constant struggle. Last year I found myself at 145. I lost 15 lbs for my daughters wedding in July. The loss was over an 8 month period. I did it using MFP, weights, walking, swimming and a little yoga. I only put in 30 min per day about 5 days per week and it worked for me, but seemed very slow compared to the way my body used to be. I have now gained 7 back, but am back on track. Weight loss at this stage is certainly a marathon, not a sprint. Speaking of that, I used to be a runner, but now can only walk due to hip and knee aches and pains. I don't like what my body is becoming, but I keep telling myself to consider the alternative of not being here.
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I am 5 years post menopause and I am actually finding it easier to lose. Yes, it is going a little slower, but I am not as hungry and I haven't been getting the cravings I used to get since I am not getting the hormone cycles any more.0
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Harder but not impossible. I agree with the recommendations to incorporate strength training. CICO is definitely working for me. I told myself my days of losing weight were over now that I hit 50 and am definitely in the change. I'm so happy I didn't listen to myself and let the fear take over. 15 pounds down since January - and yes, I'm happy with slow and steady. Maybe it is just our mindset that needs to change. Dropping weight fast isn't the way to do it.
Please forgive me, but what is CICO?0 -
Harder but not impossible. I agree with the recommendations to incorporate strength training. CICO is definitely working for me. I told myself my days of losing weight were over now that I hit 50 and am definitely in the change. I'm so happy I didn't listen to myself and let the fear take over. 15 pounds down since January - and yes, I'm happy with slow and steady. Maybe it is just our mindset that needs to change. Dropping weight fast isn't the way to do it.
Please forgive me, but what is CICO?
Calories in, calories out. May I ask your stats? I just checked out your diary and a calorie goal of 750 is dangerously low for almost everybody. That will mess with a whole lot of things, including your hormones - which are crazy enough with menopause. And hormones play a part in how your body regulates everything, including weight loss.
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but I am not as hungry and I haven't been getting the cravings I used to get since I am not getting the hormone cycles any more.
This is a great observation--being past the mood swings of TOM and the water weight gain associated, helps make it all seem smoother going, even if a little slow.
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I am almost 49 and have been logging since February. It helped me to realize weight loss is now going to take me a lot longer than when I was younger. Patience is key.0
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I'm two years into menopause (age 50) and I'm really not finding my weightless any different now. I agree with the above poster who said not experiencing PMS and cravings is very helpful.
You had asked about increasing your metabolism. Try weight lifting to build muscle mass (preserve muscle mass and bone). Also, I noticed in your food diary, you have entries for generic homemade items. Are these your tried and true recipes? If not, the calorie counts may not be accurate.0 -
Mischievous_Rascal wrote: »Harder but not impossible. I agree with the recommendations to incorporate strength training. CICO is definitely working for me. I told myself my days of losing weight were over now that I hit 50 and am definitely in the change. I'm so happy I didn't listen to myself and let the fear take over. 15 pounds down since January - and yes, I'm happy with slow and steady. Maybe it is just our mindset that needs to change. Dropping weight fast isn't the way to do it.
Please forgive me, but what is CICO?
Calories in, calories out. May I ask your stats? I just checked out your diary and a calorie goal of 750 is dangerously low for almost everybody. That will mess with a whole lot of things, including your hormones - which are crazy enough with menopause. And hormones play a part in how your body regulates everything, including weight loss.
I understand, but I eat more then 750, i just burn down to 750 is my hopes. I always don't accomplish that. Like today. I ate over 1300... I won't be excerising tonight. It was a long day at work.
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I'm two years into menopause (age 50) and I'm really not finding my weightless any different now. I agree with the above poster who said not experiencing PMS and cravings is very helpful.
You had asked about increasing your metabolism. Try weight lifting to build muscle mass (preserve muscle mass and bone). Also, I noticed in your food diary, you have entries for generic homemade items. Are these your tried and true recipes? If not, the calorie counts may not be accurate.
I wondered that too. Abt homemade dinners. I don't know how to log in anything else except sometimes just putting in the ingrediants. I do try to cut anything that will be high calorie when I Cook. It's always healthy. I am trying tI eat as clean as possible. I think I will stop my protien shake. I see my carbs is high... ( comes from protein powder) maybe eat oatmeal or egg whites in the morning. Maybe a green shake? Idk?0 -
I am having a lot of luck using my TDEE - 20% instead of MFPs's recommendation for calories. I couldn't decide if my exercise level was light or active, so I averaged those 2 numbers together. My daily calories doing this are 1650, but I found that varying my calories daily according to my exercise level has me losing at a steady pace.
To do this, I multiplied my daily calories by 7 to get the week total, and then I will eat, 1950, 1650, 1450, 2050, 1650, 1450 and 1350- assigning the highest calorie days to my busiest exercise days. Sometimes I also play with my carbs, but will keep my protein per day at 127 grams and my fat at 48 grams. Doing this, my carbs will range from 101.5 g. to 276.5 g. I know a lot of people are afraid of carbs, but I have found that I need carbs to give me endurance and happiness
I originally started with 1550/ day, but felt I needed to bump that number up. I should also add that I am a vegetarian.0 -
Wow. That's a great idea bepaz. Thanks for the idea. Willing to try anything. I am not tooooo afraid of carbs. I try to keep my carbs natural and stay away from breads. But this is more difficult that i orginally thought. I admit I am not a patient person. So, when I want fat off... It's like I want to see progress everyday. Especially since i sweat my *kitten* off working out, giving up cake and other things I would love to eat. Tomorrow is a baby shower... I am just praying they hv a veggie and fruit tray. I keep trying. Even tho yesterday I was way over my goal, but I do not beat myself up... Since my goal is low. 750 cal a day. I know people say it's too low. But I eat as much as my body wants and then burn those calories off. Ie: I will eat 1200-1500 calories but then I will burn 500-800 calories in my workouts. Not always, but that's my goal.0
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Bump0
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I've been working on the same two pounds for three weeks. I take in about 1100-1300 (usually on the lower end) calories a day AND I exercise. Sometimes I exercise twice a day. This morning, I'm up a pound. From where? I dunno.
If I could lose a pound a week, I would jump for joy.
If there is a secret to losing faster, I don't know it.
Take advantage of the pound-a-week thing while it lasts.0 -
I've been in menopause for 5 years now. One pound a week is realistic for someone with no health issues. I, personally, didn't have trouble maintaining a 60 pound weight loss for 3 years until my thyroid started going nuts.0
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It took me a week to get 1 pound off. There was a time, 9 yrs ago to be exact, I lost 65 lbs in 4 months w/out a lot of effort. Now I am staying w/in my diet, i excercise everyday and drink tons of water... But yet it takes a week to loose 1 lb?
A healthy, sustainable loss is .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight.
Have you read the Sexypants post? So much good "how-to" info: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
PS. MFP has a Near- or Post-Menopausal group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/506-near-or-post-menopausal-group0
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