Menopause and weight loss getting hard

weda404

Hi to everyone. I never post for advise, because usually when I try hard enough I can reduce easy. But not lately. Quick background, was 175 at 5’ 2”. Lost the weight with exercise and diet about 3+ years ago. I love junk food so my weight will spike as I over consume and I just under consume and yo-yo about 5ish pounds up or down. I’m currently at the high end of that 5lbs (126lbs). And every time I try to reduce my calorie, I just lose it, and over consume. I can no longer make a lost of more than 3 lbs without feeling a NEED to eat. About 3 weeks of 1600ish calories (gram everything I eat), and I’ll have a day where I knowingly just say I’m gonna eat. I feel it’s because of menopause and the meds they are giving me. I weight lift 4 times a week for 1 to 2 hours ( includes mobility). I run 1 to 2 days per week for an hour about 6 miles (so slow). If the run leaves me hurting, I’ll walk the next run day for two hours or 8-9miles of zone 2. I also get no less then 12k steps. I do that to make sure my activity doesn’t fall. My maintenance calories falls around 1800-1900. I think. If you made it this far and have some advice I’d love to hear from you.

HoneyBadger302

Peri and menopause definitely hit different people differently. I know I'm dealing with peri big time right now. I started on a supplement, which helped with the various mood and ADHD issues big time, and the extra/out of no where 4-5 pounds of pure bloat also mostly went away.
However, for me, the fatigue and sleep patterns are still seriously affecting me (and my energy and willpower), and libido is just - gone. Completely.
So I have HRT on the way, and am excited to get that going, however, I know many if not most women end up adjusting their dosages/timing/etc based on their individual results. Every "body" is different, so it's definitely not one-size-fits-all. As mine is an online provider, reaching my MD is pretty simple.
Bloat and weight shift is a VERY common complaint during all of this for many, many women in the groups I'm in.
For me, my weight is about the same as it was (up a bit but that's totally understandable considering where the fatigue has left me, so no "excuses" there), but distribution has dramatically shifted to my mid section and I've had to go up a size in pants because of it, even though the scale doesn't reflect that!
I'm hopeful the HRT helps and I can at least get back to my normal sleep patterns and workouts, which I think will help a ton with weight in general.

You say you're "on meds" but that can vary wildly as well - maybe your provider would have some advice as well?

weda404

Thanks for the comment. I didn’t think to say but yes the new meds are HRT. And you are right dose is always changing, is too high from my last blood work. But it’s also not working anymore on night sweats, and very poor sleep. My heart palpitations. My mood. And yes weight now loves my midline.

kshama2001

Despite what I see on blogs, There's little evidence that most types of HRT make you put on weight.

That said, exactly what are you taking and for how long?

Decreased estrogen can increase appetite, but presumably you are getting estrogen, which should take care of that.

I assumed you've talked about the night sweats with your doctor?

A family member gets relief from night sweats with gabapentin, but this is associated with increased appetite, so caveat emptor.

Gabapentin helped me sleep, but did not make me feel less hot at night. Air conditioning fixed that.

I take buspirone for anxiety and love it for sleep.

I also work at my sleep hygiene every single day. Here's a pdf on that topic:

https://sdlab.fas.harvard.edu/files/sdlab/files/sleephygienecheckliststriveweekly.pdf

punkypump

When I hit my plateau my coach had me do a Keto Diet for 1-2 weeks & I started losing again.

Mithridites

HoneyBadger302 wrote: »

Peri and menopause definitely hit different people differently. I know I'm dealing with peri big time right now. I started on a supplement, which helped with the various mood and ADHD issues big time, and the extra/out of no where 4-5 pounds of pure bloat also mostly went away.

Would love to know the name of the supplement. Same boat...

HoneyBadger302

Mithridites wrote: »

HoneyBadger302 wrote: »

Peri and menopause definitely hit different people differently. I know I'm dealing with peri big time right now. I started on a supplement, which helped with the various mood and ADHD issues big time, and the extra/out of no where 4-5 pounds of pure bloat also mostly went away.

Would love to know the name of the supplement. Same boat...

I'm taking the Dr. KellyAnn Peri&ME. I was hesitant, but it really did make a HUGE difference (like night and day) on the ADHD and mood/rage and giving life "color" again.

weda404

kshama2001 wrote: »

Despite what I see on blogs, There's little evidence that most types of HRT make you put on weight.

That said, exactly what are you taking and for how long?

Decreased estrogen can increase appetite, but presumably you are getting estrogen, which should take care of that.

I didn’t know about the low estrogen can increase appetite. They won’t give me that for one year. Thought they said I was very low. I’m only taking testosterone 50 milligrams once a month at doctor and progesterone pills daily. My levels were high at last blood test but they told me it was because the test was taken too soon after the shot.