(Peri)Menopause and weight loss

angeeishere

Hello, I was wondering if this is a problem for me or if others have this as well. I lost a lot of weight 4 years ago and within the last 3 years it's crept back on. I started peri-menopause 3 years ago and I would say in full menopause a year ago. It seems like what I did 4 years ago for weight loss isn't working now, no matter what my calorie intake is. I've started exercising again in hopes that will help. My question is what work for everyone else? I'm getting so very discouraged.

Francl27

Log and weigh everything.

helenrosec1

I'm the same 2 years ago I lost weight easily and quickly and now I'm finding it harder (I'm doing exactly the same as last time too, weighing food and exercising) so it could be due to being perimenapause.

shadowfax_c11

What did you do 4 years ago for weight loss? I am in Perimenopause myself and don't see it as a factor. When I am tight with my logging, weighing my portions and stuck to my goals the weight comes off. When I am sloppy and lazy it doesn't.

choppie70

I lost weight about 3 1/2 years ago, but due to medical issues and deaths in the family I gained it back and then some. It was a struggle to lose the weight then. I am now in Peri-menopause and have lost 45 lbs and it has been so much easier than it was before!

I am just staying under my calorie goal and using my Fitbit to make sure I am moving more.

booksandchocolate12

shadowfax_c11 wrote: »

What did you do 4 years ago for weight loss? I am in Perimenopause myself and don't see it as a factor. When I am tight with my logging, weighing my portions and stuck to my goals the weight comes off. When I am sloppy and lazy it doesn't.

I'm 51 and in perimenopause, Your post is me to a T!

Sued0nim

angeeishere wrote: »

Hello, I was wondering if this is a problem for me or if others have this as well. I lost a lot of weight 4 years ago and within the last 3 years it's crept back on. I started peri-menopause 3 years ago and I would say in full menopause a year ago. It seems like what I did 4 years ago for weight loss isn't working now, no matter what my calorie intake is. I've started exercising again in hopes that will help. My question is what work for everyone else? I'm getting so very discouraged.

Seems to me that even though you lost weight you didn't develope lifestyle habits that meant you could maintain

I've always personally found that trying to repeat a previously successful weight loss never works, because there is no true conviction or learning curve

I don't believe hormones make a different to the actuality but they can to the feelings..eg your hunger or cravings can be more difficult to control ...but that doesn't mean you can use it as an excuse (not that you are, jus' say in' )

So what I would do is

1) throw away everything you think you know about dieting, every technique and trick you've used before ...they didn't work cos here you are overweight again and starting again

2) enter your details on MFP, set to sedentary and set weight loss goal at no more than 1% current weight ...so it may be 1 or 1.5lbs a week ..if you're over 200 you can go for 2lbs

3) throw away your measuring cups ...get a cheap digital scale that you can pop a plate / bowl / pan on and tare back to zero

4) weigh and log everything by weight choose entries from MFP database carefully (I'd say more than half are completely wrong) and check against packs and other calorie sources, USDA and name in Google works well. Build your own recipes, never use homemade entries or others recipes

5) start walking more, perhaps invest in a basic Fitbit (not HR version) or similar pedometer you can synch

6) find an exercise programme you enjoy ...aim for one with progressive resistance ...try weigh lifting....seriously the free weights section can be a revelation ...log your exercise at 50-75% of MFP calorie estimates

7) monitor your weight over 6-8 week cycles ..adjust calorie intake accordingly. Don't worry about fluctuations it's the overall trend that matters

8) keep going...even at maintenance all you will do is increase your intake until it matches your burn ... So develop habits in weight loss (batch cooking? Walking to work? Substituting low calorie vegetables for more calorie dense foods so you can eat more)

It's a learning curve

Good luck

mrspaws91

Exercise will help. As we age, the metabolism slows. Regular exercise can help relight the fire of your metabolism.

Heartlight441

I'll be 44 this July and I am pretty sure I've just started my perimenopause. I've been 'regular' my whole life and now a period's gone by with nothing. I do find my weight isn't budging but I've been tweaking the calories and macros so as of this am, back to following MFP's suggested calorie intake - plus 40/30/30 macros. We'll see....

Sued0nim

mrspaws91 wrote: »

Exercise will help. As we age, the metabolism slows. Regular exercise can help relight the fire of your metabolism.

As we age our TDEE reduces by around 100 calories per decade ..it's not a huge amount but over time can be significant

It is an average decrease and generally based on the fact that we move less and lose muscle

You're right that we need to make a conscious effort to exercise / move more ...but also progressive resistance, actively looking to rebuild musculature can put our base metabolic rate and our actual TDEE back up there

I've just posted on another thread that I've had to drop my age on Fitbit by 30 years and increase my height by 2 inches in order to get it to calculate enough calories for me to maintain my weight goals (it increased it by 200)...this is because I have been weight training for a couple of years so have a better musculature than the formulae expect for my grand old age of 49

Pawsforme

I'm 53, menopausal and hypothyroid and I've lost about 30 pounds since August. As far as I can tell being in menopause wasn't much of a hindrance at all. My thyroid was, but once that was appropriately medicated I had no trouble losing weight and in fact have found it easier in many ways than it was in my 20's. I'm more patient now, less apt to starve myself for quick results, and my focus is more on long-term health than on quick weight loss. Of course there's no denying that losing weight and changing habits is challenging no matter what stage of life you're in.

Hang in there. Be accurate with your weighing, measuring and logging. The results will come.

Madelinec117

angeeishere wrote: »

Hello, I was wondering if this is a problem for me or if others have this as well. I lost a lot of weight 4 years ago and within the last 3 years it's crept back on. I started peri-menopause 3 years ago and I would say in full menopause a year ago. It seems like what I did 4 years ago for weight loss isn't working now, no matter what my calorie intake is. I've started exercising again in hopes that will help. My question is what work for everyone else? I'm getting so very discouraged.

I understand what you are saying. Since menopause I find that the amount of carbs I eat greatly effect the hormones and the amount of fluid I retain as well as the night sweats. For the past few weeks I have been eating the carbs MFP recommends and it is not working. I will have to go back to the lower carb amounts. I know I also have a thyroid problems but they are just monitoring it for now. Keep trying different things until you find the right balance that works for you.

cms023

Pawsforme wrote: »

I'm 53, menopausal and hypothyroid and I've lost about 30 pounds since August. As far as I can tell being in menopause wasn't much of a hindrance at all. My thyroid was, but once that was appropriately medicated I had no trouble losing weight and in fact have found it easier in many ways than it was in my 20's. I'm more patient now, less apt to starve myself for quick results, and my focus is more on long-term health than on quick weight loss. Of course there's no denying that losing weight and changing habits is challenging no matter what stage of life you're in.

Hang in there. Be accurate with your weighing, measuring and logging. The results will come.

This is me too. 50 years old, peri menopause and not exiting womanhood gracefully. Had a few issues in the last 2 years with roller coaster hormones. They put me on heavy doses of progesterone and gained 15 pounds in 6 weeks! I was already overweight so it was adding insult to injury! After a year of feeling awful on that I went off of the progesterone and hoping I feel better.

I am also hypothyroid so weight loves to hang on. Constantly playing with those meds too.

About a month ago I got sick of feeling bad and decided it was time for a change that would last. I would do extreme dieting where I was miserable, weak and starving. I decided the scale moving or not moving would not influence me any longer so I am staying away from that and going by how I feel. Been working out and eating healthy for about a month now and I feel great! Again, no idea if I've lost any weight but I know my body has changed.

Machka9

I was 48 and well into perimenopause when I started here. And I started here to prove to myself and anyone who cared that I could not lose weight.

I put my details into MFP, selected sedentary as my activity level, and chose to lose 1 kg/week. MFP gave me 1250 calories + exercise calories, and I read that most people only ate about half their exercise calories back.

So I stuck to that like glue. I wasn't having anyone saying that I didn't give it my absolute best shot, that I had somehow cheated or had gone into it half-heartedly.

For 10 days I was right. I didn't lose a gram. I figured I'd give it three weeks, and when I hadn't lost any weight, I'd chalk it up to perimenopause and getting older in general, and return to the way things were.

But on the 11th day I started losing weight, and by the time I hit the 3-week point, I had lost 3 kilograms. So I figured I might as well keep going.

In 16 weeks I had lost 15 kg ... took a month off then resumed, but upped my calories to 1350 ... in 16 weeks, I had lost another 11 kg.

I'm down to a weight I haven't seen since about 2004.

But the key for me was honest and accurate consistency.