Weight loss menapause

skinnyka22a

Any advice on that time of life menapause.. Should you reduce calories even more? Any hints and tips what has worked? I hear you can gain 2 stone plus when going Thru it.

vivmom2014

I've lost the most weight I've ever lost after menopause. It's all in the calorie deficit. And I didn't keep a large deficit, because losing slowly was fine with me. Exercise earns more calories - yippee.

Age is no excuse, really. I bought into that discouraging mindset for a while - but not anymore.

skinnyka22a

That's good enough for me . Thank you

skinnyka22a

What about during did you gain?

vivmom2014

skinnyka22a wrote: »

What about during did you gain?

I guess I can't blame any gain (or lack of loss) on menopause - before, during or after. I certainly got more active with my weight loss efforts. But sticking to the calorie deficit was the entire key. It wasn't that hard, because I kept eating everything that I love & enjoy. Using a food scale helped a lot.

skinnyka22a

Yeah i think I need a pair of scales . Been guessing far too much . Thanx for the info

vivmom2014

How much weight do you have to lose? If it's in the range of 25 lbs. or less, you can input your stats into MFP to lose at a rate of .5 lb/week and receive a fairly decent amount of calories to work with. Adding exercise earns more calories.

AnnPT77

I hit menopause hard, and early: It came as a side-effect of chemotherapy when I was 44, and they put me on an estrogen agonist (anti-estrogen, essentially) besides. I didn't gain a bunch of weight (even after chemo was over ;-) ). And I've lost 56 pounds since April, now at CW 127, within a few pounds of goal . . . so I guess it didn't hinder weight loss either. And I'm hypothyroid, besides.

Get the food scale, log carefully, stick to a reasonable/sustainable calorie deficit, adjusting the deficit if necessary to achieve weight loss. It works. You can do it if you choose to. (And the food scale is only around $20.)

skinnyka22a

Thanks for all the advice .

middlehaitch

I put on 25-30 lb just before menopause when I bought a car and stopped walking and biking everywhere.
I lost the weight by counting calories during menopause.
I also started, for the first time in my life, doing formal exercise during this time too to make up for the drop in activity through buying the car.

A plus that I found was that cardio, I did aqua fit as the water keeps the body cooler, really helped calm and decrease hot flashes.

We do naturally slow down as we age (general statement). This gradually lowers our BMI. The rate of loss is the same from 20-30 as it is from 50-60, and ranges from about 50-100 cals a decade depending upon a persons size.

Upping activity or exercise, weight training for bones and muscles, cardio for heart and lungs, and a yoga type routine for balance, flexibility, posture, and mobility, are good health benefits and will contribute towards weight loss.

We have had hormone fluctuations every month, or for 9 months at a time during pregnancy, and these can be challenging. Find time for extra sleep; night time hot flashes can really wear you out physically and mentally.

Be aware when those food cravings are your hormones demanding to be fed and try to rationalise it.

It is quite common for fat to redistribute as we age and more gather viscerally around our organs, which do drop a little as we age too, hence the oft bemoaned larger stomach. A good exercise routine helps with that.

It has no need to be an incredibly difficult job losing during menopause. Go by what MFP's recommendation calorie goal is, get a scale to weigh your food, and eat back 50-75% of your exercise calories. MFP has already accounted for your loss per week; you need those exercise calories to feed your activity burn.

Sorry that was soooo long.

Cheers, h.

skinnyka22a

That is what I need to hear . Fantastic. Thank you

Sued0nim

Eat at a defecit
Move more
Follow a decent progressive resistance programme
Don't let age, life stage or hormones be an excuse