What to do about perimenopausal weight gain

ajzgray6507

I turned 43 this year and have been struggling with perimenopause and the changes that are happening to me and my body for the past two years.
I've experienced night sweats, mood swings (happy to screaming banshee), gaining around 15+kg of weight over the past 2 years (even though I was going to Crossfit x4 a week, walking the dogs each night and eating pretty healthy balanced diet), lack of libido etc and haven't had a period in the past 12 months. Up until 2 years ago I hadn't been over 80kg, didn't have issues with random hot flushes or night sweats where you have to hang half of your body and your feet out of the bed and out from under the duvet and my moods were pretty constant.
So here I am on MFP trying to do whatever little things I can to get myself back on track. This is week three of serious food and exercise logging and I can alteady see that I need to eat more protein, less carbs and choose better snack options.
I know everyone and every body is different but I think its still good to try something new / different if what you're doing isn't working. Plus I want to avoid hormone treatments etc and keep it natural.
I am not aiming to be a size 10 in 6 months or anything like that. But have set what i think is a realistic goal of losing 15kg - 20kg by May 2022 for my daughters wedding.
So I am super keen to hear, read and see what others are doing to bring the weight down, reduce the hot flushes, deal with the water retention etc. and are going through perimenopause.

Machka9

First ... https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10482404/is-it-over-yet-the-perimenopause-thread

Next ... I joined here in 2015, just as I was turning 48. Throughout the rest of 2015, I lost 25 kg (55 lbs). It can be done, it just takes a bit of focus.

And ... hot flushes. I can't take hormones. It's not a matter of wanting to avoid them to keep it natural, it's a matter of that the hormones could kill me with blood clots. I was hospitalised with blood clots filling my left leg in 2009.

After dealing with them on my own, with supplements like Evening Primrose Oil, with losing weight, with drinking cold water, and much more, I finally made the decision that I couldn't take it anymore and was put on a serotonin-based anti-depressant which is supposed to help reduce hot flushes. I think it does, but they're definitely still there and I still deal with them with a supplement cocktail, cold water, etc.

I'm 54 and still waiting to go a year without a period.

kshama2001

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

I'm 54 and still waiting to go a MONTH without a period >.<

I've never had a hot flash. I've been taking Black Cohosh with Dong Quai for my fibroids for over 10 years. I don't think it is doing anything at all for my fibroids, but it might be preventing hot flashes, so I keep taking it.

https://smile.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Black-Cohosh-80/dp/B00RLT7NP8/

Strudders67

Definitely read that 'is it over...' thread. I don't know that weight loss is different no matter what the circumstances. You just may not feel like doing something when your mood is down or you're in the middle of a hot flush just as you're preparing dinner, but the process doesn't change.

OP, I went through the menopause at a similar age to you. I had my last period when I was 43 or 44. My GP was very much against HRT though and, as I shared his feelings, I have never taken them. His main advice was to ensure I get sufficient calcium and do strength-based exercise to maintain bone density.

However, my weight gradually crept up, even though I went to the gym and thought I was eating healthily. I joined MFP in early 2017, determined to get myself back in to the 'Normal' BMI range before my birthday. I did that (just) over the next 4 months, but then stopped logging and put the weight back on. The constant supply of tasty treats available at work didn't help. I came back to MFP in early 2018 and have been tracking consistently ever since. I lost 15kg and reached my goal weight (middle of Normal BMI, so I had room to fluctuate) in March 2020.

You don't say how tall you are or exactly what you weigh so there's no way of knowing what is a reasonable deficit for you but, if you're of average height, achieving your goal in a year should be do-able. It will get slower as you lose more weight, but even averaging 0.5-1lb a week would see you lose 15kg. I'm short and my deficit was small, but the key thing is that I was logging what I ate and ensuring that I wasn't going over my maintenance number. If I wanted a(nother) biscuit or mini pastry or muffin, I logged it and worked out whether it would fit my macros before I picked it up. If it didn't fit my calories / macros for that day, I either removed the entry again and didn't pick anything up or had to spend longer in the gym that evening! As long as I ate in a deficit, my weight gradually went down. With only a small deficit, I also learned what portion sizes were right for me and, by trial and error, what kept me feeling fuller for longer.

From posts on this forum (which I only found second time round), I learned so much which has been useful. Make sure you're eating sufficient protein and fat. Make sure you stay hydrated. Weigh everything you eat and measure all liquids that you use. Log everything, but especially log the calorie dense stuff. Know that weight loss isn't linear and a sudden rise doesn't mean you've blown everything so might as well give up; compare yourself to where you were last month not yesterday. Above all, have faith in the process.