Menopause and weight loss

pennie29

I think menopause effects even dieting , who has some advice. Walking 2 -3 miles a day doing bleachers daily .

editorgrrl

MFP has a menopause group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/506-near-or-post-menopausal-group

pennie29

Thank you

vivmom2014

This is the most weight I've ever lost - and I'm done with menopause. So...I don't think that excuse is gonna work.

pennie29

Advice not criticism was asked for not making excuses . I just know my body is working diff that it used to be . Maybe I shouldn't have made a post

goldthistime

pennie29 wrote: »

Advice not criticism was asked for not making excuses . I just know my body is working diff that it used to be . Maybe I shouldn't have made a post

Mine is too. I'm not sure exactly what it is. Maybe I have less tolerance for feeling hungry. But it's much harder to drop weight than it has ever been in the past.

vivmom2014

No, I don't mean it as criticism at all. It just sorta galls me that menopause is "sold" to women as a giant drag... everything dries up and slows down, yada yada. I bought into that for a while, but then I just decided not to. A whole lot of it is mental.

As long as you eat at a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight. It will work. Adding exercise to earn more calories (and just feel great) is a worthwhile pursuit.

SLLRunner

pennie29 wrote: »

I think menopause effects even dieting , who has some advice. Walking 2 -3 miles a day doing bleachers daily .

I lost my 44 pounds while in menopause (doctor confirmed) and had no trouble at all. I weighed and logged everything I was eating, as well as exercise, and made sure I stayed in a calorie deficit most of the time.

You can exercise all you want, but if you are not eating at a calorie you will not lose weight.

editorgrrl

vivmom2014 wrote: »

No, I don't mean it as criticism at all. It just sorta galls me that menopause is "sold" to women as a giant drag... everything dries up and slows down, yada yada. I bought into that for a while, but then I just decided not to. A whole lot of it is mental.

As long as you eat at a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight.

^This. I'm 47 and have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease). You can do this.

Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight, and learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Logging works.

SLLRunner wrote: »

You can exercise all you want, but if you are not eating at a deficit you will not lose weight.

^This. Exercise for fitness; log to lose weight.

earlnabby

I am 5 years post menopause and this is the easiest time I have ever had losing weight. Yes, it is coming off a little slower but I no longer have the hormones cycling through my body with the accompanying weight fluctuations and cravings. Yay for menopause!

I also love being in that stage of life where I am too old to need sanitary protection but too young to need incontinence protection. One aisle at the store I need never go down!

suruda

I think at this age (51) I have to be super careful with my eating. Log every ounce and bite and stay under my calories for the day. Where I spend those calories makes a difference too...lean proteins, fruits and veggies do best for me. I love to exercise but I won't lose a pound without tracking what I eat.

madkcole

Pennie- Everyone is different. I think menopause can affect the rate at which you can lose weight. It took me a full month of weighing, measuring and counting every calorie that went into my mouth before I saw the scale move. I think what helped me was increasing my water intake and choosing healthier carbs such as vegetables. Medications may be a factor too.

madkcole

suruda wrote: »

I think at this age (51) I have to be super careful with my eating. Log every ounce and bite and stay under my calories for the day. Where I spend those calories makes a difference too...lean proteins, fruits and veggies do best for me. I love to exercise but I won't lose a pound without tracking what I eat.

Well said!

madkcole

One more thing. Another thing that helped me was eating less salty foods. Women have a tendency to retain water and for me the older I get the more I battle that. Good luck to you. Keep on keeping on!

rosebette

Menopause does slow down the metabolism. You can lose weight and be fit, but you must be more mindful about everything you eat because your body doesn't burn calories as quickly it did when you were younger. I've been able to maintain a decent weight, but in my younger days, I could drop 5 lbs. by giving up dessert for a week. Now, I can eat dessert only once a week, and then I might see a gain.

daniwilford

Menopause effects the body in many ways that can make weight loss more difficult, with sleep disturbances and slowing metabolism. It also has some real benefits like no water weight gains with TOM. In the end it all comes down to CICO and I am living proof that it works in menopause and the calculations predicting weight loss have been very accurate.

SLLRunner

rosebette wrote: »

Menopause does slow down the metabolism. You can lose weight and be fit, but you must be more mindful about everything you eat because your body doesn't burn calories as quickly it did when you were younger. I've been able to maintain a decent weight, but in my younger days, I could drop 5 lbs. by giving up dessert for a week. Now, I can eat dessert only once a week, and then I might see a gain.

My experience has been very different. Losing weight during menopause was the easiest it's ever been for me, and as a youngster I was obese and giving up desert for a week did me no good because I'd replace those calories with something else. It's so easy to maintain now, too.

kshama2001

earlnabby wrote: »

I am 5 years post menopause and this is the easiest time I have ever had losing weight. Yes, it is coming off a little slower but I no longer have the hormones cycling through my body with the accompanying weight fluctuations and cravings. Yay for menopause!

I also love being in that stage of life where I am too old to need sanitary protection but too young to need incontinence protection. One aisle at the store I need never go down!

LMAO!

middlehaitch

Pennie29,
Great that you are working your heart and lungs.
As well as your walking do try to get in a bit of resistance/strength training, body weight exercises are good, your bones and muscles will thank you. Heavy lifting can be explored too.

Also, as we age we can easily lose our balance, mobility and flexibility, posture can go bye bye too, see if doing something like aqua fit or Zumba is something that you like. I have found these are fun and help with maintaining good functional movements.
Belly dancing is the greatest!

For weight loss, calorie counting on MFP is as simple as it gets, and it works.

I have only lost weight once and that was during menopause so I have no comparison.
It was 30 lb, from the top of my BMI scale to the bottom.
It was slow, that was because I am small, so not a lot of calories to play with, not because I was menopausal.
I also, the slug that I was, decided I better get up and move. Use those muscles and bones, lungs and heart before I lose them.

By the end of a year I was back to my pre 50's weight of 105lb, but slimmer and stronger than I had been, probably since my mid 20's, and have continued to be so into my 60's.

With regards to metabolism slowing;
At 55yo and 130lb my bmr was 1123
At 62yo and 100lb my bmr is 980.

Ooh, big difference ( 143), well not really, if I put my today's stats in but as a 55yo it comes out as 1010, a difference of 40 cal over 6 years.
I think we have so many things going on, mental and physical changes, at that time, choosing to lose weight is an added stressor, and that is what makes it difficult. ( health and any other problems aside)
JMHO and experience.

Cheers, h.

scolaris

Great to hear of others success losing during and post menopause! I am about 2 years post now. Taking it slow. I'm in no hurry & it was gained gradually. Have about 50 lbs to lose.

GraceCamD

Pennie, just curious, did you just join now (tonight?) just wondering, because maybe getting some friends on here to talk to would help you.....I have a sluugish/non working at all almost thyroid function and was still able to lose weight, also could not exercise for a year due to back surgury and still lost 25lbs. You can do whatever you put your mind to.

diannalewis526

I feel like there are 2 things that happened for me: the slower menopausal metabolism is noticible, and the 'muscle loss sneak' as I call it.>> Over 20 years I gained 20 pounds. Sounds not bad- a pound a year. However, I'm just now realizing that at the same time , I was also losing muscle-- the good faster metabolizing pounds. So the bad, slow metabolizing fat pounds caused even slower metabolism, creating a vicious cycle, that didn't slow till I started eating less AND building muscle. On my way now, also working on improving my cardio strength.

Machka9

pennie29 wrote: »

I think menopause effects even dieting

In what way?

lucyywombat

Sounds like several of us have suffered from a similar pattern: could eat anything we wanted in our teens, 20's, even 30's... Then hit 40 and things started slowing down. I think it's partly age, partly hormones, partly just one's personal relationship with food. I for one am grateful for all the insights you all have shared -- this is my first time in the MFP community, and I already feel better & less alone. So, thanks for that.

middlehaitch

Lucyywambat, I know exactly what caused my weight gain.
Not eating more, not drinking more, but dancing less.
We used to go out at a weekend, have a good dinner and drinks followed by dancing until 2 or 3.
Once that started to drop off ( OH working away); the pounds started rolling on.

Once I had realised why I had gained, and when the weight was lost, I knew I just had to replace the late night dancing
With fun evening workouts.

There is a really good thread women 55-65 on here. I will go look for it and post it. Quite a few who have posted here, and are new to the forum, will probably enjoy it. Nice and supportive.

Cheers, h.

ETA link to the thread '55-65 women's success stories' in the Success Stories Forum.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10047153/55-65-year-old-womens-success#latest

Hope it works. I am on my phone so font know.

vivmom2014

I was definitely heavier in my 30's and 40's "eating anything I wanted to" (which I pretty much did!) than I am now in my 50's. And I don't even have to be that strict. However, at this point exercise is near and dear to me; I wouldn't want to forego it and am grateful that I can work out and do some progressive strength training. It allows me to be a bit sloppy with diet and eat a lot of ice cream...

I'm not sure about a slower metabolism, but I guess that is an issue for some. Or maybe mine is slower but I don't notice the adverse effects so much because I eat at a (small) calorie deficit and keep moving.

earlnabby

middlehaitch wrote: »

With regards to metabolism slowing;
At 55yo and 130lb my bmr was 1123
At 62yo and 100lb my bmr is 980.

Ooh, big difference ( 143), well not really, if I put my today's stats in but as a 55yo it comes out as 1010, a difference of 40 cal over 6 years.
I think we have so many things going on, mental and physical changes, at that time, choosing to lose weight is an added stressor, and that is what makes it difficult. ( health and any other problems aside)
JMHO and experience.

Cheers, h.

This is right in the average range as far as everything I have read over the years. Menopause does not have as much of an effect on metabolism as people like to think it does. Yes, it does slow a little, but the actual amount for the vast majority of women is not majorly significant. The change in hormones and where they deposit your visceral fat makes a bigger impact on your overall shape change (the post menopause belly).

spm2010

vivmom2014 wrote: »

No, I don't mean it as criticism at all. It just sorta galls me that menopause is "sold" to women as a giant drag... everything dries up and slows down, yada yada. I bought into that for a while, but then I just decided not to. A whole lot of it is mental.

As long as you eat at a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight. It will work. Adding exercise to earn more calories (and just feel great) is a worthwhile pursuit.

Not always....I have an underactive, untreated thyroid and eating less and working out more doesn't make the pounds fall off. Takes me a good 6 months to lose 5lbs. If something worked for you fantastic, but it doesn't work for everyone.

Need2Exerc1se

vivmom2014 wrote: »

This is the most weight I've ever lost - and I'm done with menopause. So...I don't think that excuse is gonna work.

How rude! Saying menopause affects weight loss isn't the same as saying one can't lose weight during/after menopause. So, what excuse do you think is being made?

choppie70

I lost 24 lbs several years ago when I was perimenopause. I gained it back and then some because of the emotional rollercoaster my life became (3 deaths in 3 months - father, godfather, and grandfather and kidney issues). I am now in menopause and I am finding it much easier to lose weight this time.

kshama2001

lucyywombat wrote: »

Sounds like several of us have suffered from a similar pattern: could eat anything we wanted in our teens, 20's, even 30's... Then hit 40 and things started slowing down. I think it's partly age, partly hormones, partly just one's personal relationship with food. I for one am grateful for all the insights you all have shared -- this is my first time in the MFP community, and I already feel better & less alone. So, thanks for that.

I don't feel like my metabolism slowed down any significant amount but that my activity level did. With a desk job I have to be mindful of my eating. With jobs I had when I was younger that didn't involve prolonged sitting, I didn't.