Sounds all too familiar - I'm 51 and have had the heaviest periods of my life for the past year. I used to be able to drop weight when I wanted to, but now I've gained 20 lbs in the last two years and it will not budge. Add that to some back issues and stress and I think we all know where that leads. I crave junk like never before - salt and fat mostly. I think I need to remember that when it was easy to lose weight, I was also a lot more active - so I'm trying to get the exercise in whenever I can. Avoiding the late night cravings is the worst though - oh, and the wine - don't forget the wine!

My story ?? im 52 in april and last year I needed to start losing weight...weight watchers was always my good ol standby surefire loss method...so what happened..yah... I joined ww and gained 3 lbs in one week..ugh...then I got the spare tire over my middle...where the heck did that come from?? I've been heavier and NEVER had a spare tire...how do I dress...how do I lose weight like I used to ... how am I gonna survive "old age" and not be 245 lbs ?? aaaarrrrgggghhh...
mom never told me about this !!!!
help

I am 45 going through perimenopause. For how long I'm not quite sure because gyns wouldn't take me serious the last few years. Dec 2011 started having some other medical issues that ended up with me taking blood pressure med. Didn't want to have to take that forever so I joined a gym in Jan 2012. I was doing really good and got off the medicine. I lost 35 lbs and life seemed to be going pretty good. August my periods stopped. I became more forgetful, tired beyond belief, no interest in sex and so forth. I stopped going to the gym and ofcourse gained 15 lbs. Decided in Dec that I needed to try a different gyn and it seems that I am perimenopausel. Atleast I know I'm not crazy. Hormones are not an option because my mother died of breast cancer when she was 33. The gyn suggested soy. So I have started taking a menopausel support vitamin which contains soy. I started back to the gym Monday and I am trying to keep track of my calories. Is there anything else that you ladies have found to help?

Hi. I'm 45. At 39 my ob/gyn diagnosed me as in peri-menopause due to out-of-control periods and hormonal imbalances, and she put me on the pill (Yaz). Within a year I had gone from 140 to 150, but was hanging in there. Two years ago I started getting horrendous migraines like clockwork every time I was on the dummy pills due to the estrogen drop, so she recommended I take the pills continuously. Migraines basically went away, but since then my weight has climbed to 169 and my blood pressure and cholesterol (which were always excellent) have skyrocketed. Probably a combo of the pills plus menopause causing this, but I'm not sure. I'm going to see a regular doctor next Friday to see what they recommend.

For the last 20 years I have tried to eat a healthy diet - not obsessively so, but better than most people I know. I don't drink or smoke. I lift weights 3x a week and do cardio the other 4. For 40 years I was at a healthy, normal weight . . . now I cry when I have to try on clothes.

Looking for suggestions other than "eat less and exercise more" since I was doing that when all this occurred.

I have always been overweight, at my heaviest i was 252 pounds and i decided that enough was enough and i started walking 2 miles a day, 6 days a week i was eating between 1200 and 15 calories a day and in a year i got down to 195 pounds and i was so proud of myself, i felt so good for the first time in years. then....perimenopause hit me...HARD. i was still doing my walking and my diet but the weight started coming back, fast. i am not back up to 228 and i honestly don't see any end in sight. i must say i am so depressed and disappointed in myself that i am gaining this weight back after working so hard to get it off. i don't know what else to try and i feel like giving up.

Me too!

About the only thing that seems to have helped me lately (besides getting off the bc pills once the worst of my perimenopause symptoms seem to have passed) is cutting out a lot of processed foods and really watching my sodium. Yes, I still have french fries occasionally, but I no longer eat lunch meat every day or canned chili, etc. Also started taking a potassium supplement. Am I at my goal weight? no. Still stuck at 161-162 instead of 145-150 where I'd like to be, but I no longer cringe when I look in the mirror. I drink lots of water, lift heavy, and do lots of walking. I also make sure to eat enough. The 1200 calorie crowd I cannot relate to!!