Menopause

I don't think menopause is the issue.

I'm 49 , eat 2200 to maintain. A modest cut from that to lose.

I don't think menopause is the issue.

I'm 49 , eat 2200 to maintain. A modest cut from that to lose.

No need to be rude! You exercise right? That makes a BIG difference in how many cals you can have and maintain/lose. She said she might start walking, so I'm assuming she doesn't exercise. Anyone would be obese if they ate 2200 calories and just sat around.

Read. Read. Read.... about the effects of menopause...... Organize your eating so that you eat protein in the morning.. It fills you up... and you are less likely to feel hungry. Eat less white bread..... Remember that the more sugar you eat, the more it turns to fat...... Do exercises early in the morning, ( according to my doctor) and do them every single day..... Stretching.... walking.... mild... not crazy..... lifting light weights for upper arm strength because once the body stops producing estrogen.. you lose muscle mass.... I have been lifting 3 pound light weights , and I improved my muscle mass. You are very young to be experiencing this, and I wish you the best. I have been reading about dividing your food plate into three sections... the largest is protein.... the next is carbs... and the last is fats...... Pull out drinking soda pop...... Drink water.... Pull out creamy soups, sauces, and dips..... Pull out one thing at a time.... but you will be grateful you will conquer this goal now instead of later.....:flowerforyou:

I did put on weight faster after menopause started (I'm still in the middle of it with looks like years to go). But I also started eating more than I had before.

HOWEVER - it's all gone now and I'm better eating habits and I'm back to where I was in my early 20's as far as weight.

Everything she said ^^^^ is true. More protein, fewer easy-to-digest carbs, drop way back on the cheese and cream, go to the no-fat milk and yoghurt. And pick the yummy foods you want to eat because they just taste good.

Read. Read. Read.... about the effects of menopause...... Organize your eating so that you eat protein in the morning.. It fills you up... and you are less likely to feel hungry. Eat less white bread..... Remember that the more sugar you eat, the more it turns to fat...... Do exercises early in the morning, ( according to my doctor) and do them every single day..... Stretching.... walking.... mild... not crazy..... lifting light weights for upper arm strength because once the body stops producing estrogen.. you lose muscle mass.... I have been lifting 3 pound light weights , and I improved my muscle mass. You are very young to be experiencing this, and I wish you the best. I have been reading about dividing your food plate into three sections... the largest is protein.... the next is carbs... and the last is fats...... Pull out drinking soda pop...... Drink water.... Pull out creamy soups, sauces, and dips..... Pull out one thing at a time.... but you will be grateful you will conquer this goal now instead of later.....:flowerforyou:

^^^^ I agree.

I too entered menopause early and I can identify with your struggle. There is a great book/web info by Dr. Lee who really opened up this topic. I have used natural progesterone instead of the HRT because it made the symptoms worse and only fooled my body into thinking it had what it needed. It also improves your bone density. Stress and cortisol can also add to the mix and exercise started slowly and carefully will begin to combat this and begin to raise your metabolism. Hang in there, you can do this. And good for you for tackling it early!
Best wishes!

I'm 43 (soon to be 44) and had a hysterectomy 3.5 years ago due to complications from infertility meds. I've been in perimenopause for just about two years now -- coincidentally, the same amount of time I've been on MFP and have gotten into the best shape of my life.

IMO, menopause is just an excuse for *some* people. Yes, hormonal changes will do wacky things to your appetite and the shape of your body. Yes, as we get older we process things differently. But no one needs to be a victim of Mother Nature if they want to set a goal and have the determination to achieve it.

I eat whatever I want, as long as it fits into my macros and I get the right nutrients. I get up at 4:00AM every day to workout before heading into the office, make sure that I drink lots of water, eat smaller portions more often throughout the day, and I've been successfully maintaining for about a year now.

And yes, I still eat full-fat dairy, the occasional cheeseburger and fries, and pizza at least once a week.

Menopause may be a new "chapter" in your life, but it is by no means the end of the story.

I'm 42 (43 in two months.) I finished menopause at least five years ago. I was always very irregular, so we don't really know how old I was when I started it. I do not take HRT. I take an extra vitamin D and a calcium supplement every day. I had my physical and a bone density test a few weeks ago and my numbers are great.

I've been on MFP for maybe a year and a half. I have never been healthier. I try to work out every day. Some weeks I only get 5 or 6 days. I eat as well as I can. I try to limit bad fat, cholesterol and sodium. I eat smaller meals and have healthy snacks (fruit, fiber bar, nuts) between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. With exercise and eating smart, I usually have enough calories and macros to have a treat after dinner relaxing with my hubby.

You can do this. Make MFP and logging all your food and exercise part of your daily routine. It looks like there are quite a few of us who are young and menopausal. Do the work for your health. We'll support you.

Peri-menopause started for me when I was 42. During a very stressful year I seemed to gain 50+ lbs,get gray hair and my period stopped. Fortunately for me, once I realized that my stress level was creating the biggest impact, I was able to control the hot flashes with a change of diet (cutting out alcohol, processed foods, soda) and I noticed that by the time I was 45 most of the typical symptoms associated with menopause had all but disappeared.

The weight has come off nicely, my sleep is back to normal and for the most part no more hot flashes. My philosphy has always been that periods and menopause are a natural and healthy part of life. I was happy not to have worry about my period anymore and truthfully excited (??) to see how my body is changing as I grow older. Perhaps this is a strange attitude but why fight nature IMHO. Good luck.

We need to educate ourselves and not get caught up in "mainstream advice" that is so one size fits all: decrease your calories, exercise more. NOT bad advice, but must take it in context - WHAT does it really mean?

In general, this is assuming that women are not exercising and eating willy nilly - and it's pretty easy advice to hand out without drilling down and getting down to real work as to the HOW, WHATS and WHYs.

Eating LESS calories isn't always the answer since many of us take that as to eat barely anything. When in fact, we need to EAT, but make smarter food choices and we need to build/maintain lean body mass.

ABSOLUTELY, need to shore up our nutrition and need to incorporate exercise into our daily lives. I'm VERY passionate about strength training and weighted cardio.

And yes, I will be honest - I'm not a coddler. I refuse to wrap my arms around any type of "woe is me in menopause" group hug. YES. It's reality. Let's face it, deal with it head on - kicking BUTT!


So .. anyhoo. Here is an article just to get the juices flowing about strength training.

www.cathe.com/weightlifting-myths-debunked

This is excellent advice. I'm 50 and lost 45 pounds this past year to get to my goal weight and size. Did menopause make it harder? Probably. Did it make it impossible? Nope.

You can have excuses or results, but not both.

Have you talked to a nutritionist about the effects of your surgery? I imagine there are specialists out there that can steer you in the right direction.

I'm 52, menopause since two months ago, perimenopause for about a year before this. During my "perimenopause" time I gained about 15 pound. However I had also allowed my eating habits to go crazy so I never really connected it with being perimenopausal, just with eating junk.

I've managed to lose by cleaning up my eating. I joined MFP recently to help keep myself on track.

I exercise like a mad woman too, which I've done for years, 7 days a week. At least 45 minutes of cardio per day (elliptical) and weights 4 days a week. Maybe two days off a month. It's excessive but it makes me feel both physically and emotionally better.

I agree with several of the other posts; you really need to eat a balanced diet. I'd say your first step should be to get your eating in order. And make it a priority to fit in some exercise. I know finding time is difficult but it needs to become a habit; something else needs to go. Working out is the first thing I do every day; weekdays I'm up at 5:00 a.m. to get to the gym. It's not always easy but it is always worth it.

Thank you for such a great conversation. I just joined MFP and am pretty positive I am pre-menopausal. I am only just about 34 and have gained weight, increased fatgue, moodiness & night sweats especially between ovolating and my period. Graying early runs in my family which I have so luckily inherited the gene. My sister, 3 years older than I, faired good with no signs of gray thus far! Anyway, I know pre-menopause is not the only culpret of my weight gain because I do not have good eating habits, have a sedentary job, don't excercise except for house work, yard work & running 3 young kids around. I plan on doing better on all of these things this year. I want to get healthy for myself, my family and I especially would like to be happy with my appereance once again. Getting back into an old pair of jeans and looking in the mirrior without a fake smile again would be great!!

The thing is I actually eat less now than I used to. I used to eat about 3000 calories a day. I originally cut back to 2500 calories but continued to gain weight. Then I went down to 2000, and then 1500 and still gaining. My metabolism is shot. I did lose weight about 18 months ago but I used the HCG diet. I lost 26 lbs and then gained back 50 lbs. I wonder if that diet in combo with the menopause cauded my metabolism to crash. I have had my thyroid checked out and its fine.

Honestly ...yes. Definitely you have done yourself no favor with VLCD ( very low calorie diet). THAT is very metabolism damaging.

Please do some research on metabolism repair.

Leigh Peele is a source
www.eatmore2weighless.com is another

I went through the same thing, at 38 I started to flow really heavy, every two weeks, skip a month then flow for two, repeat,repeat...I had surgery to clean out everything, got put on the "depo" shot to stop everything, it backfired, I went/flowed heavier then ever and started to gain weight big time. I hardly ate, I was so tired and felt gross. I got put on hormone therapy pills, again gross, I warned everyone I met not to look sideways at me because I felt like ripping everyone apart, and I would cry over every little thing. Felt like my body totally betrayed me. I was active too, my work is physical labor, so I wasn't sitting idle. People can say what they want but I have lived it, I didn't eat breakfast, lunch, and for dinner I would eat a salad and chicken and have fruit for a snack, and gain three pounds the next morning. The hot flashes were awful, waking up drenched,having to shower and change the bed, then shiver the rest of the night. I finally felt so awful, that one day I decided enough, I stopped all pills, I got on MFP, put in my info, and started to eat. Since August 5th, I have lost 37 pounds. I walk, continue to work, but now I eat, when I wasn't eating before. My periods are still not normal, and I never know when I am going to start, stop, or for how long it will last, but at least I am losing weight again. So when people say calories in, calories out, that isn;t always the case. Hormones do factor in. Everyone is different, you just have to find what works for you. I am now 46, so it has taken me 8 years to start feeling better. When I have talked to other older women about this, some have told me it took them 10 years, (sorry!) and again, my mother never went through what I have and noone else warned me about this. I was told by one of my doctors that I was suffering from depression, but all along, I kept telling him no, there was something else going on. It took me going to a female doctor to get any help, also, get checked for polycystic ovary syndrome,(hope spelling is right) I found out I had this and that is part of the tiredness and weight gain. Hope I have helped a little, I kind of feel like I have probably said too much and rambled on all over the place, but I was just trying to help and tell others what women do go through.