Gaining weight all of a sudden???

kharveyjack

Hi Ladies -
I'm 54 years old and I've been struggling lately. I can't seem to shake the 13 lbs I've gained!! I'm thinking it might be menopause related, idk!! Anyone experience this? Seems like the harder I try, the scale goes up.

Scetta

I’m in the exact same boat. I think it’s absolutely related to menopause and hormones. So hard when I’ve weighed the same almost my entire adult life. Last few years it’s been creeping up. Need to lose 10-15 lbs. I’ve recommitted to myself and want to do this before my bday. Good luck to you.

AnnPT77

I'm not really a believer that it's menopause per se. (I'm F, 68, went into menopause at 45 (induced by chemotherapy), lost from obese to healthy weight at 59-60 . . . severely hypothyroid, too, though properly medicated for it. I've been at a healthy weight since, and I'm for sure no magical unicorn. )

I don't know about you, but my lifestyle gradually got less and less physical as I was getting older - I'm talking daily life stuff, not exercise. In my 20s, my job was more physical, my hobbies and social life had more inherent movement, I was working on creating a nice home, transportation involved walking (e.g., to the public transit stop) or biking, some folks have toddlers to chase, etc. As I aged, job was more sedentary, social life was more theaters and dinner parties, I was enjoying the home my younger DIY-er had created, hire out more physical work than I did when young/poorer,

On top of that, being less active leads to subtle fitness decreases, so we may find it less easy or fun to move, thus do even less of it, creating a negative down-spiral

A lot of women in my demographic have made that situation even worse by many cycles of yo-yo weight loss and regain. The common pattern in the past was extreme low calorie diets with punitively intense cardio regimens, eating mostly salads/veggies. Fast loss, not enough protein, no strength exercise? Lose more than minimum muscle tissue alongside fat loss. Then the regain pattern would be a lot of rich or treat foods (high fat, carbs, still not enough protein), and no exercise. Regain is almost entirely fat weight. Repeat that, and body composition gradually worsens: At any given body weight, more fat, less lean tissue. If that happens, it can reinforce the "move less" inclination, and the fitness decline. (Muscle also burns a tiny amount of calories more at rest than the same weight of fat, but that's a small factor.)

The good news is that all of that is reversible: Eat the right number of calories, get enough protein, include strength exercise during and after loss, consciously increase daily life movement.

There's a thread about that last thing here, where many MFP-ers share their ideas:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

Not all of those ideas will suit everyone, but there may be some that will work.

Personally, I'm not a fan of focusing on things that are unchangeable. Possibly menopause has some complicating aspects for weight management, but I can't decide not to be menopausal. (Some women can take HRT. I absolutely can't, because of a history of estrogen-fed advanced-stage breast cancer.) I think the only point in thinking about obstacles is to plan how to get over, under, around, or otherwise past them. Anything more is a waste of time and energy. I can control my eating, and my activity level (exercise and daily life) pretty much 100%. Therefore, that's my focus for change.

Wishing you success: The results are worth it IME!