Just started menopause!

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NJtoCA
NJtoCA Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
I'm a 51 year old female, and recently gained 15 pounds over the past 9 months. Ugh! I also smoke and have been wanting to quit, but I'm terrified of gaining more weight. My eating habits haven't changed drastically, and think the weight gain is mostly attributed to the change my body is going through. A friend recommended this site, so here we go. If anyone has words of wisdom, please feel free to share.

Replies

  • sandyrrt
    sandyrrt Posts: 255 Member
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    Hey, Dorinna! Welcome to MFP. You will get a lot of support on here and will make friends from all over! I will be 51 next month and am also going through menopause. Not only do we have to deal with the emotional turmoil but also the physical changes :(. I have found though, that with exercise and cleaning up my diet, my symptoms have improved. Weight loss has been slow, but that's ok with me. I didn't put it on in one year, so I want to take it slow.
    Quitting smoking can be a daunting thought, but don't let fear of weight gain keep you from doing what you know is best for your overall health:).
    I am a respiratory therapist and have seen too many people suffer from the devastating effects of tobacco use.
    Make friends on here, educate yourself on good food, log everything and start out slowly with exercise. Make small goals and celebrate when you reach those goals. .
    Friend me if you like. Hang in there. You have started in the right direction :)

    Sandy
  • GrandmaJackie
    GrandmaJackie Posts: 36,398 Member
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    Yes, welcome to MFP! Sandy is right, I love this site! Everyone is here to help! I am about to turn 52 in March and use to have hot flashes ALL THE TIME! SINCE changing my diet and exercising,they come very seldom now! My weight loss was very slow but it was well worth it! Honey, if I can do this YOU CAN! Just remeber that like Sandy said you didn't gain it over night so don;t expect to lose it over night! LOSE ON POUND AT A TIME, then before you know it your be at your goal weight! Make mini goals, maybe after losing 5 pounds reward yourself! Good luck in your jounry!
  • Smokey19
    Smokey19 Posts: 796 Member
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    Hi, welcome to mfp, my name is Kimberlee, 49. I started menopause 5 months ago and am a smoker that needs to quit. This site is helpful in that logging your food really does help put what you eat into perspective. This site is also helpful with all the awesome, supportive friends on here that stand behind you and push you when you need it. Please feel free to add me. I am on here everyday and have an open diary.
  • lifelovehealth
    lifelovehealth Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi Dorrina, Im 1 month shy of my 50th birthday and have been here for a few months although this is my first post. I quit a 32 year habit 10 years ago to try to conceive, and had great success on both counts! Its hard to quit, but it can be done. I am also heading into menopause with some peri-menopausal symptoms which can be a challenge. I have lost 5 kilos so far through some serious diet change and just walking each day. I would like to get under 100kg before the big 50 on the 11th Dec so have just 2 kilos to go! Happy for you to add me as a support. Cheers.
  • NJtoCA
    NJtoCA Posts: 3
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    Thanks so much ladies! I appreciate your support!
  • sherryjohnson2012
    sherryjohnson2012 Posts: 102 Member
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    Welcome to MFP!! I've been going thru menopause for years (it seems) lol I quit smoking last March, thats also when I decided I was going to finally lose weight! So far so good! weights not coming off as fast as I would like, but feel so much better since eating healthier, I'll friend request you, together we can ALL do this :)
  • LeeLeeHayes
    LeeLeeHayes Posts: 1
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    I am peri-menopausal (44 yrs old) and all I can say is that working out - CARDIO so I sweat bigtime and burn TONS of calories is the way to go!! I HIGHLY recommend spinning - its easy on the body and, makes you lose weight fast - you melt it off - and right up there with sweating off lbs and out toxins - is the amazing affect it has on your mind -- take it easy at first if you smoke and decide to try it -- my Mom was a smoker -- quit - and is 63 and does 5 spin classes a week :) she is happier than I have seen her in a LONG time - of course, losing 40lbs will have that affect on people :):):) As soon as I knew I was perimenopasaul - - I went on a health kick and havent stopped nor do I plan to! and, I am down 15lbs - I wish you the VERY best on your new healthier journey!!!
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
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    Hi! Menopause hit me at 42 (3 years ago). First, if the flashes are so bad that sweat literally drips down your limbs and face and soaks the bedsheets at night don't be a hero. Take the HR for a while to get past the worst of it. Nothing else (not the progesterone cream, not diet, not exercise) helped. I took it for a year to get over the hump. I still have them, but they are nowhere near as virulent or frequent. Sleeping with a fan on you at night helps.

    You may find that everyone on earth suddenly gets painfully stupid, just trying your patience. It's not them, it's you. It stinks. Walk away. You may also find your memory has gone missing. Think of it fondly and do what you can to strengthen what you have. Write things down. It will save you a great deal of time spent staring blankly as you try to remember why you went into the room in which you find yourself.

    Welcome to the club. :wink:
  • Tory111
    Tory111 Posts: 5 Member
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    Hi and welcome to MFP. I am 45 and in the first throw of hot flushes! I am finding it increasingly difficult to lose weight and the weight seems to sit round my middle now instead of spreading itself out a bit! I have always struggled with my weight but now weigh more than i ever have. I gave up smoking in February this year and am nearly at pre giving up weight but i wont lie to you it has been a struggle. Alcohol calls me all the time and i know this is calorific. I ooften think well at least i am not smoking so have been allowing myself extra treats! This is it for me now, need to get in shape and lose the pounds after falling off the rails several times this year already. Good luck and welcome aboard. :)
  • bsuew
    bsuew Posts: 628 Member
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    I'm 51 as well. You have came to the best place! MFP is totally awsome! I haven't started into menopause yet. Hopefully can put it off a while longer (hopefully) exercising and loosing 100 lbs! I started MFP in February and have lost 47 lbs.
    Welcome! And feel free to add me if you'd like! I love to motivate!
  • supermodelchic
    supermodelchic Posts: 550 Member
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    Hi I guess I am kinda starting menopause too, been 11 weeks since my period, so it's begun, i hope I don't gain weight , i work out 6 days a week and eat pretty clean, never smoked, do drink a little , but i am hoping that working out for almose 32 years will save my *kitten* LOL so I guess i would say get up and workout like you've never worked out before ,shock the **** out of your body eat proper foods ect...:bigsmile: I am 48.. oh and i don't have hot flashs just some foggy thinking forget stuff ect..
  • SaraBiston1
    SaraBiston1 Posts: 45 Member
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    Nowadays most of the women enter in the menopause age. So dont worry. Take a proper diet and do regular exercise. That all will help you to get relief in menopause.

    http://www.thebeautyinsiders.com/menopause-supplements
  • Kimjanebrooks
    Kimjanebrooks Posts: 253 Member
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    You may find that everyone on earth suddenly gets painfully stupid, just trying your patience. It's not them, it's you. It stinks. Walk away. You may also find your memory has gone missing. Think of it fondly and do what you can to strengthen what you have. Write things down. It will save you a great deal of time spent staring blankly as you try to remember why you went into the room in which you find yourself.

    Is this right???? The menopause causes you to be forgetful?? I am only 41 but started my menopause a couple of years ago. The hot flushes aren't as bad as they used to be but I have been forgetting everything!! If someone asks me what I did yesterday or what I had to eat I have no idea!! I was getting slightly worried. My Gran had altzeimers and I was starting to think that perhaps I was heading this way!
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
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    You may find that everyone on earth suddenly gets painfully stupid, just trying your patience. It's not them, it's you. It stinks. Walk away. You may also find your memory has gone missing. Think of it fondly and do what you can to strengthen what you have. Write things down. It will save you a great deal of time spent staring blankly as you try to remember why you went into the room in which you find yourself.

    Is this right???? The menopause causes you to be forgetful?? I am only 41 but started my menopause a couple of years ago. The hot flushes aren't as bad as they used to be but I have been forgetting everything!! If someone asks me what I did yesterday or what I had to eat I have no idea!! I was getting slightly worried. My Gran had altzeimers and I was starting to think that perhaps I was heading this way!

    It was pretty bad for me. I went from 5 years pre-med with a 4.0 GPA to "Why am I in this room?" Unless things change drastically med school is not possible for me any more. :cry:
  • nikkig716
    nikkig716 Posts: 3
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