I haven't read that book, but may see if it's in the library.
I try to eat SLOW carb, i.e.. low GI/GL foods
I'd say (I don't log) that my carb intake is at about 30% and of those, most if not all are low GI/GL nutrient dense, high fiber carbs. It does seem to help. It helps with the cravings by keeping my blood sugar more stable.
I joined a few of the PCOS groups here a while back because I've been long convinced that menopause is/leads to/causes a form of insulin resistance. Dunno. I just know that focusing on eating slow carb helps for me. Hope keeping an eye on the carbs helps you as well.

Sabine... The entire premise of that book I'm reading is basically the philosophy that Menopause does lead to forms of inulin resistance. And truly, THAT's what I feel..in my gut...is what's happening to me. I spent many a year on low fat diets in the past to lose weight. And they worked in my youth...but not the case anymore. It really has come down to nutrition and slow carbs for me too! Giving it a go from here on out. Just tired of this!!

This really does make sense to me. I downloaded the book. As soon as I finish what I'm reading now, I'll get started on that.

I love the Younger Next Year Concept.

I don't know who it was who said that at 20 you have the face you were born with, but at 50 you have the face you deserve...but I think something similar holds true for our health (genetics factored in, of course.)

Each of my parents declared when they reached retirement age that now they were going to do whatever they wanted...and that included overeating on high fat/high sugar foods. Within 5 years, my father had 2 heart attacks and he spent the last 3 years of his life in and out of hospitals. My mother went from a vigorous 120 lb woman who was teaching herself her 4th language and repainting the house annually to a woman who slipped away into dementia after a stroke.

Whether it is absolutely true or not, I like to think that we can make choices now during menopause that shape how we age into "old" age. I think menopause is kind of life our body's forcing us at mid-life to reevaluate how we live and whether or not those choices will support a aging vitality or aging old.

Awesome thoughts!!! Thanks. Hitting 50 is december is my mid-life re-evaluation. My sister is 11 years older than me and has terrible arthritis. I have some of it but trying to keep moving to keep me limber. I think I need to find a yoga class cause I am sure not as limber as I used to be!

Hi everyone! I'm Vicki, I'm 54 and past the worst of it. I feel you on the occasional but horrible periods in the peri-m stage. I had them and it was awful and a mess, besides being unpredictable. I'm happy to have that behind me.

I did a little bit on the estrogen patch. I didn't like the way it made me feel, so I went it without meds except for those few months. If was fine. I figured out what my triggers for hot flashes were and tried to not consume them (caffeine of more than a cup a day, alcohol, animal foods which are full of hormones) and it helped a bunch! I think everyone is different, but that's what worked for me. I get an occasionally "personal summer" moment but it's usually when I fall off the wagon and have a glass of wine or something like that.

I just want you all to know that it'll be better once you get a year or so past the year without periods. Of course, most people get more "barrel shaped" if they're not careful like I did, so now I'm on MFP to lose the weight.

Hello everyone,
I am Jennifer, a Catholic wife and mom to six, age 48 and definitely perimenopausal. I have struggled with my weight since I stopped having babies (when I was having them, I didn't worry--nursing helped me to lose my baby weight pretty well and only with the last two did I have a hard time losing my weight--did Weight Watchers after the last two and lost my weight pretty easily). Of course, I had my last at age 41, so perimenopause came at about age 44 and then I began to really struggle to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.

Until about three years ago, I never really exercised regularly (or cared to)...I now enjoy a good walk/jog about five times a week and find that it is actually therapeutic for me and helps to calm my hormonal swings!

Looking forward to joining in and contributing as I can. I would also love to find some more friends for my app for encouragement....

Take Care,
Jennifer

WELL HELLO fans of Menopause! Yay! Good times!

Things I know:

Hot flashes suck... except when you are outside in zero degree weather in the middle of winter! Winning!

That feeling just before you get a hot flash when you just want to tell everyone in the world that has ever pissed you off to F***OFF... will pass and it's just the stupid menopause thang. (Just don't want my mother-in-law around when that happens)

This is the new normal. YES this is NORMAL? I love you God, BUT!

Eating junk food makes me feel better for a split second. Eating healthy will make me feel better. (Period)

Oh did I just say PERIOD? So glad that's almost over!

Weight is being distributed differently... So glad large hind-ends are in style! Thank you Kardashians.

I do know that I able to deal with this... menopause, bring it on! Got to be easier than my divorce five years ago.

AND I know I'm not alone in this. I feel lucky to have lived this long and have the opportunity to loose the use of my ovaries the natural way! Damn I sound like Polly Anna, I feel a hot flash coming on! ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Menopause: learn to laugh about it.

Welcome new ladies!! Glad you joined us. Lots of good info out here.

Friend requests sent.


Lisa

Hello! My name is Leslie and I'm happy to be a part of this group. Last year was epic for me, I had my last period in July, got married in September (first time) and turned 50 in October! Prior to my last period I was fairly regular, with the occasional skipped period for the 18 months or so leading up to it. I knew I was perimenopausal, but didn't really expect it to just one day stop!

Whlie I'm not complaining about the no period thing, I will complain about the sudden 10 lb weight gain (within 2 months) and the horrible hot flashes and night sweats. Awful. I have tried everything from maca, to estroven, to adrenal support herbs, to black cohosh to soy product, and even tried an estrogen patch from my dr. combined with progesterone (HRT) for about a week. HRT made me very sick - nauseous, short of breath, fainty feeling, couldn't even exercise at all - so I quit that and am trying trying trying to figure out how to manage it naturally. All of the products I listed caused MORE weight gain, water retention and general moodiness. Bleh.

Anyway. I am now doing soy milk every day + adrenal support herbs and cutting back to almost none on sugar and white carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes). That is helping a little - still hot flashy but I'm getting used to it. Dress in layers

However, the weight is just continuing to creep up up up in spite of my best efforts to exercise most days and eat a balanced diet with lots of protein, fruits and veggies. I am down to 2 pair of pants I can squeeze into!

I'd like to lose the 10 I gained and then maybe 5 more. I've already learned so much from you all by just reading your introductions This looks like a fantastic group of ladies & I'm looking forward to the journey with you all!

- Leslie

I'm at the beginning stages I guess. I go for about two months with nothing then boom have a really bad one. I am definitely stressed and more emotional then I was before. I've gone through spurts where I have hot flashes but they seem to have subsided for the moment. I do take Estroven for weight loss and maybe that has helped the hot flashes. I've been working hard to get the "menopausal" weight gain look off and its been a tough road. Still hanging in there though!

This sparked my interest, I have been in peri-m for a long time, my dr. put me on a low dosage birth control pill, they helped me to get regular, I don't have hot flashes any more and I'm a much nicer person now. I gained 25 lbs in the last year but I blamed that on quitting smoking and needing to only focus on that for awhile.

I don't have anyone to talk about it with so I'm curious how do you know the difference between "menopausal" weight gain and "quitting smoking" weight gain??

Welcome Leslie! So you mean you still have the hot flashes even after your period stops???? I guess I didn't realize that - I thought it was what happens leading up to that point. I think you are doing all the right things for the weight gain - you just gotta stick with it and not give up. That is hard to do when you don't see results though. I am going on two years here and I have gained, not lost. But I feel in better shape, physically - I just can't seem to lose anything! So I try different things to help me along - call them fad or whatever but as long as its healthy I don't see a problem with it. I couldn't do the IF - not long term, I think the going for too long with out eating and then when I did eat I would feel sickish. So now I'm just trying to eat healthy and keep exercising and moving. I can't do restrictive diets, and really don't want to, I believe in feeding my body and I am normally very active, running and doing weights, and hiking, etc. so eating too low of calories doesn't work for me.

Hi! I'm Michele, I'm 53 and have been having symptoms since my late 40s. I haven't been able to use any hormone replacement therapy because of the prevalence of breast cancer in my immediate family. For a while, the symptoms, which have been intense (especially night sweats, hot flashes, and foggy thinking) seemed to go away and I was thrilled but now it is all back with a vengeance.

I've had a hell of a time losing weight and have just undergone thyroid checks to see if that is an issue. I believe it is, but all the tests have (again) come out normal. I was always fairly thin until I had kids and have consistently carried at least 40 extra pounds. Now it is 60. I've kicked up my exercise routine and am back logging every mouthful. But between the weight gain, and the hot flashes, I'm a little out of my mind. A good thing is that I've been without my period for almost two years now. That I do not miss.

Hello Ladies!

Lots of great discussion out here! I am right smack dab in the middle of all this stuff. I've been experiencing Perimenopausal symptoms since my early 40's. Crazy cycles. Periods that last six weeks at a time to skipping my period every other month. I've gone through months where I experience night sweats and hot flashes, to months where I have no symptoms. What has been a consistent through it all though is the slow creep of the scale. I mentioned this in one of the earlier posts, but I'll say it again here... I've been reading this book called: Before the Change. Taking Charge of Your Perimenopause, by Ann Louise Gittleman. It's a good book. Good source of new information, for me at least. One of the things she stresses throughout that book is how many pre menopausal women are vitamin deficient. She claims that a lot of our symptoms can be controlled or minimized by increasing our intake of certain vitamins. So, I DO think it's important that we get checked for vitamin deficiencies and thyroid function. It just seems like our bodies change, almost at a nutrient level, as we go through this stuff.

The other piece of the equation that she concentrates on is eating foods primarily in the low Glycemic Index arena. So.... lower in carbs. I know there are many schools of thought on that, and she doesn't say you CAN'T have bread or potatoes; she just encourages you to combine those higher carb foods with a larger portion of lean protein and veggie to balance out the meal and avoid sugar spikes. She basically claims that many of us women are insulin resistant during this stage in our lives and that's why we have difficulty losing weight. Hmmmmm....

I have put some of those suggestions in place and I will say this... This last month is the first time in many, many months that the scale is actually moving in a downward direction. Not at a lightening pace.. but it's moving. So, I'm going to keep on keeping on. I think this is a personal journey for all of us. We have to find what works for us. So, keep searching for your answer!

Good luck to you all!! We will make it through...

thank you jchrisman717! My experience with the hot flashes has been NO hot flashes at all until my periods stopped. Everything was sort of humming along, feeling pretty good with the occasional missed or late period, and then it really just hit me like a freight train one day and I couldn't figure out was was going on! Much to the dismay of my new husband, I became a crazy sweaty mess overnight! I am figuring it out though. The game has definitely changed and I am working on getting used to my new body. My mouth still loves margaritas and sweets, but my body really rebels against them every time I try it.

You may be one of the lucky ones who breeze through it without a flash or sweat. I've talked to lots of those lucky ladies!

Anyone found that their peak hours are different now?

I used to be one of those people who stayed up till midnight, got up a 7:45, hit my peak at 10 a.m....working like a demon till 3, got a hit of sugar and continued till 8 p.m.

Now, I'm up around 5 a.m. and my peak hours are 5 a.m. to 11 a.m., and I tend to slide after 2 p.m., with another pick up at 4..slower slide till 8 and then comatose by 10 p.m.

Yup. Definitely. I was at the gym by 6am for 20 years. Now I'm lucky if I'm working out by 730. (in part because my sleep is so poor, I'm sure)

Hi everyone - I am definately post menopause, I am 61. BUT - it is nice to be in a group talking about women and our "issues". I still get hot flashes now and then and loosing weight is much harder than it used to be. I also still feel the "binge" days sometimes. You know the ones, if it isn't nailed down i am going to eat it. UGH! anyway - hope it is ok I join the group, look forward to good discussions.

Also - I took soy tablets when I started the menopause journey. They did take a while to kick in, but seemed to help with the hot flashes etc...