Women around 50

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/229946-women-ages-50-for-may?page=19#posts-3180744


this is the link to a great thread called WOMEN AGES 50+ :bigsmile: this group of women talk about all the things you mentioned:bigsmile: :bigsmile: please join us :flowerforyou:

I am 50 and post menopausal, and I can honestly say that when I eat the exercise calories, I gain weight. I can exercise and burn 800 calories but if I eat them back, I gain. So with that said, if I keep my calories abt 1400-1600 a day I do lose. Your body really does change in menopause. Your metabolism slows down, things you used to be able to eat, you can no longer even look at without gaining weight! One thing that doesn't slow down is your hunger! I'm still hungrier than ever. We need to eat, but make better choices in what we put in our mouths. Plus we need to ramp up our workouts. A 3 mile walk isn't going to cut it any more, we need to speed it up, get the heart rate going. They recommend 90 minutes of exercise just to maintain your current weight with women past menopause! That seems crazy!

Make a few changes, tweak your caloric intake as well as ramp up. If you walk 3-5 miles a day, alternate walking with running. Walk 2 mins run a minute. It will help.

Don't give up!

I know what you mean. I have gain 36 pounds in the past 5 years. It took Dr to diagnose tyroid problems because so similar to menopause . I have both. I just got scared and made desition. Started walking. Join zumba Feel better do not give up

It doesn't have to be like that. Google "bio identical hormone therapy". Read the book "Ageless" by Suzanne Somers. Google "anti-aging medicine". Everyone just thinks that you have to accept all the things that happen to you as you get older, but the reality is that with a proper diet, rest, exercise, and proper medical treatment (bio-id. hormone therapy), you can ease into the transition with minimal issues, and improved health and quality of life. I'm just getting started on all this, and so far, it's been excellent!

I went to a natural store and picked up some progesterone cream., hoping that helps. Finances are a big issue for us at this time. I have read up on bio identical hormone therapy but it is costly
I really am not looking for excuses, I am working my hinny off to stay slim and feel healthy into my 50's.
Thank you I will research more on it.

Actually, it's not expensive at all! I'm not talking about the stuff you might get at a natural foods store. You go to a dr. that is certified to treat hormonal issues (not nec. an endocrinologist), and the visits, and whatever meds you may need, are generally covered by insurance. They do blood work to see what you need/lack, and then start you on treatment, and check your blood values again, and tweak things. My dr. used to be an emergency room physician, and decided that that lifestyle was too stressful, so he now has his fellowship in Anti-aging medicine. It's more a preventative type medicine, than a curative, and it's covered by insurance, largely probably b/c hormone issues can cause things like increased risk of heart disease, obesity, loss of bone density, etc, and it's cheaper for insurance companies to make sure that you are well, than to pay for you once you are sick.

Anyway, I just started this journey (after doing LOTS of research on it), so we'll see how I feel in a month's time. But so far, I'm feeling much better, more like myself, than the snappy, *****y, weight-gaining lady I was becoming.

Haha! The word "b*tchy" was edited out! Hey, I'm talking about myself here! LOL

I'm with you on that, dg. That there are options! I started using HRT when I was 43 after nursing my last babe for two years (he was naturally conceived). I never went thru perimenopause and I don't have a clue if I'm in menopause. (((-: I believed it was better to start early than to start later. Around that time I heard there was a study set up in Texas and they were looking at starting women on HRT around 35 to see if the outcomes are better.

My mom didn't start early and she suffered terrible osteoporosis with bones breaking at 53!! She got on it when she was in her late 60's and she doesn't have osteoporosis anymore. She got on HRT and started eating a 'paleo' diet around the same time. She's in fantastic shape, now in her early 70's. No drugs, just some hormones, good food, hiking and weight lifting.

But when it comes to HRT it reminds me a bit of the HBO show Deadwood. There's gold in it, but wow, so many charlatans. You really have to take charge and research it in detail. Because there is so much fear about estrogen lots of people are selling low dose over the counter progesterone cream as a way to solve all the problems. Even dos get sucked in and are prescribing huge doses of 10% cream and women are getting sick. Back in about 2005 the American Menopause Society put out an editorial suggesting that maybe one of the problems (aside from all the others!) in the Women's Health Initiative study might just be the progestins (too much!). I was impressed with that. People are running around fearing estrogen when in fact it might be the overdose of progesterone or progestins that cause most of the trouble.

Sommers is a start, but she's more about promotion than careful critical thinking and ethics. I think Dr. Vliet's books and podcasts are a much better start. She seems serious and cautious and she prefers to work with FDA supported replacement options. She's got several books out and you'll find her on this site. http://www.thebuzzonbios.com/ Her site is not impressive www.herplace.com but her books are well documented and I haven't heard anyone complain that the references are rubbish, which isn't true for some authors in that field. As well, there is Dr. Schwartzbein. I didn't read her book on hormones, but I've talked with her and I think she is on the ball. Plus, she is an endocrinologist.

I've seen loads of exceptional benefit to HRT in myself and others, but some absolute messes when people are overdosed. It's very important to start with ultra low doses and be very clear about how different methods of administration can make a huge difference. If one wants to simply pop a pill and walk on, I think it's a bad choice. Also, anything that sounds like a one size fits all solution is better avoided.

For those who want to get more out of their ovaries, there's a doctor in NYC who apparently helps with ovary optimization by achieving good Vit D levels and calcium supplementation (this would certainly be worth considering for a woman with PCOS).

Oh, and if you are interested in getting blood tests and your doc won't order them, there's a blood test sale going on at http://www.lef.org/blood You get your own requisitions and take them to a Labcorp facility for the blood draw.

Here's some more links talking about the issue.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/estrogen-lowers-risk-of-heart-attack-and-breast-cancer-in-some/?src=me&ref=general

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/magazine/18estrogen-t.html?ref=magazine