Has anyone been successful in losing weight during menopause?

rachaelgarrett

Hi, my name is Rachael and I'm 46. I'm in perimenopause and I have not found anything that will help me break through this weight loss challenge. I lose 2 pounds on week 1 and think I'm on a roll. Only to find those SAME 2 pounds at the beginning of week 2. It's like my body is resisting. Any tips?

AnnPT77

Hello, and welcome!

Yes, I did, about 50 pounds lost at age 59-60, still maintaining a healthy weight since, now 68. I'd been in menopause since mid-40s, put there early by chemotherapy. I'd been overweight to obese for around 30 years until that loss.

First: There's really no solid way to evaluate a new eating/activity routine until we've followed it for 4-6 weeks, whole menstrual cycles for those who have them (to compare body weight at the same relative point in at least two different cycles).

One common pattern is to drop some pounds in the first week or two, mostly from shifts in water retention and less waste in the digestive tract because eating less. Yes, some fat loss, but the whole scale drop isn't fat loss, usually. Then, after that, the body may increase water retention, kind of rebalancing things, and that hides continuing fat loss on the bodyweight scale.

So, recommendation #1: Keep going long enough to accumulate enough data to see average weight change over multiple weeks, at least 4-6. Even then, if the first couple of weeks look dramatically different from what follows, throw out those first couple of weeks and keep going a bit longer.

Once you have reasonable averages, you can adjust your calorie goal based on your own personal experience, rather than using an average-person calorie needs estimate from MFP or another so-called calorie calculator (or even fitness tracker).

Losing any meaningful total amount of weight is not a quick project with an end date, after which things go back to normal. That's the recipe for yo-yo loss/regain. Finding sustainable new habits - both eating and activity level - is key to long-term success. If you have quite a few pounds to lose, the habits need to be something you can continue for the weeks/months it takes to lose it . . . and then keep doing, with a few more calories, to maintain that new weight permanently.

In general, I think menopause per se isn't actionable, so there's no point in focusing there. Some women can use HRT - which I can't because of my cancer history - but other than that, menopause is an unchangeable fact of life. What we CAN do is figure out how to accomplish our goals despite its symptoms and side effects: That's a better focus IMO.

As we age, we tend to have less active lifestyles (jobs, chores, hobbies, etc.), and if we don't work out we also lose muscle mass. Those factors decrease our calorie needs, but they can be reversed by actions that are completely under our own control.

Some things that I think can help (in menopause or otherwise):

* Get overall good nutrition, especially but not exclusively adequate protein and fats. Too many women try to cut calories by eating mostly salads/veggies. They're great, but we need protein and fats, too.

* Get some exercise, including strength training. That will not only burn calories directly, but will increase fitness. Fitness makes moving easier and more fun - not just formal exercise movement, daily life stuff, too. When moving is easier and more fun, we tend to move more and burn more calories that way. Also, strength training helps us avoid losing unnecessarily much muscle as we're losing fat.

* Find forms of exercise you personally think are fun to do, or at least are tolerable and practical. Any exercise we actually do is 100% more beneficial for fitness or weight loss than a theoretically perfect exercise that we hate, so procrastinate and skip at the slightest excuse. The right exercise load will be manageably challenging, not exhausting.

(Being exhausted makes us drag through the day, moving less and therefore effectively wiping out some of the exercise calories. That's counter-productive. Exhaustion also implies under-recovery, and recovery is where the fitness improvement (building back better) actually happens. That means exhausting exercise isn't ideal for fitness development, either.)

* Think about daily life movement, not just formal exercise. There's a good thread here where many MFP-ers share their ideas about how to do that:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

* Work on sleep quality/quantity, if that's an issue. Sleep disruption is more common in menopause or peri, so optimizing to the extent practical will be helpful. Poor sleep triggers more fatigue which reduces movement and therefore reduces calorie burn.

Tricksy, trendy named diets aren't universally essential. Punitively intense exercise isn't essential. Aiming for aggressively fast weight loss is a trap. Expensive supplements or weird foods aren't going to be the magic spell. In fact, things like that can make it too hard to stay the course. Patient persistence, and some practical new eating/activity habits: Those are better allies.

Yes, weight loss is possible in menopause. I'm far from the only one here who's done it. If we commit, and keep working at it seriously, it can happen. In my experience, the rewards are more than worth that effort.

Best wishes!

ETA: I predict you'll get responses that say you must eat low carb, or must do HIIT, or must do time restricted eating (TRE)/intermittent fasting (IF), or something like that, to succeed at weight management in menopause. It's not universally required or even suitable. If something like that helps you be happy on the right calorie level, it's a good thing. Otherwise, if not easy/happy, it's an unnecessary obstacle. If something sounds good to you, try it, give it a fair-length shot because any change tends to feel disruptive at first. If it makes things easier, great. If it doesn't, you've learned something useful: That plan doesn't work for you. Try something else. As long as you keep going, seeking the tactics that work for you, you'll eventually succeed. Just. Keep. Going.

Suzanne_the_foot_lady

I still lose weight easily, 8 months since my last period, and perimenapausal symptoms ramping up! My problem is keeping it off! 😩

wm3796

I lost 25 pounds during menopause(age 51). What worked for me was closely tracking calories, only adding half of my exercise calories back since I thought they were probably overinflated numbers, adding an extra 20 minute daily walk in addition to exercise, increasing lean protein, decreasing simple carbs and sugars, nearly completely eliminating all processed foods, cutting down on potatoes, white rice, and cutting back a lot on in between snacking.
Those are just what worked for me. Don’t let menopause stop you from your weight loss goal. Stick with it and you will be happy you did. Your body and mind will feel great!

TAGEE1962

Hi Rachael,
I completely understand how you feel. I learned that I was in peri-menopause at age 47. I am now 51 and the misery continues concerning peri-menopause.

In 2022, I lost 28 pounds through the calorie deficit approach, tracking meals and exercise. It took about 4-6 months, but it is possible to lose the weight. Unfortunately, over time the weight returned due to my extremely poor eating habits and no exercise. After a diabetes diagnosis in August and getting back on the horse to lose weight, I am determined to lose weight AGAIN!

Mostly I do a good job of meal tracking and watching calories but I must admit that the aspect of "exercise" has been very difficult. I have lost ten pounds thus far by just following the calorie deficit, and tracking meals. However, two days ago I went for a moderate-paced 35-minute walk which was hard to do, but it paid off. When I checked my weight on the scale a day later, I lost one pound!

I'm fully convinced that this one-pound loss is due to walking just that one time because after finishing exercise, the body continues to burn fat. I will focus on walking more but including strength training with weights is going to be even more effective. For now, I'm targeting some kind of physical activity for 150 minutes per week. Even if I only accomplish fewer minutes than that, I'm going to start with just 15 minutes of activity and work my way up gradually.

I hope you've seen success over the past couple of weeks but maybe we can become friends here on the app and keep each other encouraged and accountable for what is needed to reach our goals.

Don't give up or give in!
Tara

serbob

Losing the weight has never been a problem for me, but toning has been a lot more difficult. Once I hit my weight goal I started using weights, adding a LOT more protein and trying to balance my life. My stomach just doesn't seem to slim down since menopause. I feel like I'm battling an unwinnable war. But I do feel better. And ultimately that should be the goal even when it "looks" like I haven't progressed at all. I think you need to (or at least I need to) focus more on overall health and push those negative thoughts aside and keep going. Now if I could only find a way to get rid of the night sweats!!!!

lynn_glenmont

Yes, it's possible.

In my early 50s (perimenopause for me) I shot right past my 20-pound weight loss goal to get out of class II obesity and lost an additional 20 pounds, just by logging my calories and gradually increasing my exercise (walking, dancing in my living room, and eventually some lifting).

Ten years later I had gained back most of the extra 20 pounds of weight loss. Now in my early 60s and menopause, I've lost the 20 pounds I regained over about three years, just by getting more disciplined about sticking to my calorie goal and resuming exercise that I had neglected during Covid. It's been slow (by choice) but pretty steady.

innerartist44

I had open heart surgery and gained 25 pounds and have not been able to loose any weight since then. I was put on HRT to try to lose some but it did not help. I am now seeing a nutritionist and hope that will help... I will let you know keep going and do not give up