Weight loss after menopause
bwilk18
Posts: 25 Member
Hello! I need some help. I just started tracking and working out regularly at age 57 after a year's hiatus and not having weighed in for 8 months. I had quite a shock that I had put on 11 pounds. So I started to work out almost every day alternating cardio and resistance exercises and staying under my calorie quota and was much surprised that after 5 days I haven't even lost .1 pounds. I knew it would be slower after menopause, I just didn't think it would be impossible, any thoughts? Suggestions?
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Replies
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All I can say is that I've seen others on here who are post menopausal and have lost weight. You have very little to lose so my guess is that your rate of loss is going to be very very slow. Not sure if you are a long time member on MFP or not, but the recurring themes that come up when people are not losing are these: are you logging accurately and weighing everything you eat (not measuring- weighing with a food scale)? Eat back only about half of your exercise calories because MFP overestimates usually on what you burn. Also- 5 days isn't very long to expect a loss- give it a couple of weeks before you weigh again. If you try all of this and still nothing- talk to your doctor as there could be an underlying issues such as insulin resistance or thyroid. Good luck- not impossible.0
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Thanks great advice. I'm up 18 pounds over the past two years so I have about 20 to lose which is alot for a 5'2" woman but I think what you said makes sense. I suppose I also could be retaining water and should (not should definitely) cut down my salt intake - I'm a salt addict.0
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I'm menopausal and lose just fine. What's your current calorie intake? We short older women don't get too much.
I also never worry about salt.
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5 days is not long enough
weight loss isn't linear and doesn't work like that unfortunately
give it 2 weeks1 -
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Menopause totally messed me up. My metabolism had completely slowed. I'm really struggling to lose 30lbs. Trying to up my exercise and now am logging my food. We don't need as much food now which also is hard.0
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The metabolic slow down isn't really significant. Paging @rabbitjb because I believe she knows the figures off the top of her head.
The problem is US. As we age, we move less. I know this myself. I used to be a fidgeter (and studies show that people who fidget burn more calories a day than people who don't) and I don't really fidget any more, we'll ask the kids to get something for us when we used to get something ourselves, we'll combine trips upstairs instead of making multiple trips.
Start being more active again and undo those patterns. Exercise. Strength train to halt the slow but inevitable loss of lean muscle mass. Metabolic slow down due to aging is something you can take charge of.0 -
Oh gawd @mamapeach910 .. nice spot you've put me in
From what I recall it was something like 100 calories per day over each decade of age
But I always think that is easily offset by an increase in musculature / activity and it is our inherent laziness as we get older that is more to blame
lift heavy stuff and put it down again
that's the way to do it .. I know I sound like Punch & Judy1 -
Oh gawd @mamapeach910 .. nice spot you've put me in
From what I recall it was something like 100 calories per day over each decade of age
But I always think that is easily offset by an increase in musculature / activity and it is our inherent laziness as we get older that is more to blame
lift heavy stuff and put it down again
that's the way to do it .. I know I sound like Punch & Judy
Sorry! I plead no caffeine. Maybe it wasn't you???? That sounds right. It's not super dire. That's 10 calories a day per year. Really, no great shakes and not the horrid thing people make it out to be.
Move more. Pick up heavy things. Profit.
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mamapeach910 wrote: »Oh gawd @mamapeach910 .. nice spot you've put me in
From what I recall it was something like 100 calories per day over each decade of age
But I always think that is easily offset by an increase in musculature / activity and it is our inherent laziness as we get older that is more to blame
lift heavy stuff and put it down again
that's the way to do it .. I know I sound like Punch & Judy
Sorry! I plead no caffeine. Maybe it wasn't you???? That sounds right. It's not super dire. That's 10 calories a day per year. Really, no great shakes and not the horrid thing people make it out to be.
Move more. Pick up heavy things. Profit.
Those numbers sound about right.
OP: *some* recent studies suggest that as estrogen declines, then plummets with menopause carbohydrate metabolism can change. Some women may even develop insulin resistance with true menopause.
Play around with your carb levels a bit and see if lowering them some aids you in weight loss.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »Oh gawd @mamapeach910 .. nice spot you've put me in
From what I recall it was something like 100 calories per day over each decade of age
But I always think that is easily offset by an increase in musculature / activity and it is our inherent laziness as we get older that is more to blame
lift heavy stuff and put it down again
that's the way to do it .. I know I sound like Punch & Judy
Sorry! I plead no caffeine. Maybe it wasn't you???? That sounds right. It's not super dire. That's 10 calories a day per year. Really, no great shakes and not the horrid thing people make it out to be.
Move more. Pick up heavy things. Profit.
Those numbers sound about right.
OP: *some* recent studies suggest that as estrogen declines, then plummets with menopause carbohydrate metabolism can change. Some women may even develop insulin resistance with true menopause.
Play around with your carb levels a bit and see if lowering them some aids you in weight loss.
interesting .. I'm a big carb eater and a woman d'un certain age and I would be interested in seeing those studies if you have links please1 -
Menopause is the cruelest joke anyone has ever played on women. I've gained fifty pounds over the last ten years, with thirty coming on in the last five. (I'm 55.) Add a family death to the mix and it's hard to know what really caused the weight gain. Until I realize that the whole 50-pound fat pack came on because I ate more than I burned. Nature has it backwards. It's at THIS age that we need to be running around chasing kids and juggling three things at once. But that's not gonna happen, so it's off to the gym for me.4
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AnAbsoluteDiva wrote: »Menopause is the cruelest joke anyone has ever played on women. I've gained fifty pounds over the last ten years, with thirty coming on in the last five. (I'm 55.) Add a family death to the mix and it's hard to know what really caused the weight gain. Until I realize that the whole 50-pound fat pack came on because I ate more than I burned. Nature has it backwards. It's at THIS age that we need to be running around chasing kids and juggling three things at once. But that's not gonna happen, so it's off to the gym for me.
yup :nods:0 -
Menopause is cruel! yes, I'm on the tall side (5'8") so I hear I 'carry it well'... but I've gained 15+ lbs in the last 2 years.. I take zumba/hip hop classes twice a week and try to walk as much as I can. I've cut out fast food and soda and anything fried. I keep under my calorie goal. And I seem to gain weight. I would love to cut out carbs but that's tough for me. And... I have a sedentary desk job which is a huge downfall.0
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It's not easy to lose weight after menopause but it is possible. I think post menopausal women need very few calories. This is sad but in my opinion it's true. It's true for me anyway.0
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To play Devil's Advocate, I think losing during or after menopause confers one advantage: We don't have to track monthly fluctuations in water weight.3
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At 61, it seems impossible to lose any weight, but I think it's because I've become "set in my ways". My eating habits get out of control, and I definitely move a lot less. My knees and feet ache; it's hard to push past that.2
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There are also hormonal changes that can lead to weight gain that aren't tied to muscle mass. I am the perfect example--I was lean and fit before a total hysterectomy and thus immediate menopause. I counted calories in the post op period (yes, I weighed my food) so I wouldn't gain weight. I was cleared to lift moderate weights and walk on the treadmill at four weeks and cleared for heavy weights at eight weeks. I went back to eating as I had before, and 3 months later I was up 10 pounds.Oh gawd @mamapeach910 .. nice spot you've put me in
From what I recall it was something like 100 calories per day over each decade of age
But I always think that is easily offset by an increase in musculature / activity and it is our inherent laziness as we get older that is more to blame
lift heavy stuff and put it down again
Long story short, I am more active now after my hysterectomy, yet I have to eat less than I did pre-op to maintain the same weight.
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I'm 58 and was convinced I couldn't lose weight. I am 5' 3-3/4', needed to lose at least 43 lbs. and came upon a "formula" that worked for me. I got a fitbit to motivate myself to move more, increased protein, decreased sugar (to stop cravings), replaced non and low fat foods with full fat (felt fuller longer), and increased water.
I have managed to lose 34 lbs. since September. My loss has been slow, but steady. I have noticed that I am sensitive to sodium so I make sure I don't have a high sodium meal the night before I weigh in.
I went from wearing size 14 jeans to size 8-10. This is the smallest I've been since I was in my 30's!
Be patient and good luck!7 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »Oh gawd @mamapeach910 .. nice spot you've put me in
From what I recall it was something like 100 calories per day over each decade of age
But I always think that is easily offset by an increase in musculature / activity and it is our inherent laziness as we get older that is more to blame
lift heavy stuff and put it down again
that's the way to do it .. I know I sound like Punch & Judy
Sorry! I plead no caffeine. Maybe it wasn't you???? That sounds right. It's not super dire. That's 10 calories a day per year. Really, no great shakes and not the horrid thing people make it out to be.
Move more. Pick up heavy things. Profit.
Those numbers sound about right.
OP: *some* recent studies suggest that as estrogen declines, then plummets with menopause carbohydrate metabolism can change. Some women may even develop insulin resistance with true menopause.
Play around with your carb levels a bit and see if lowering them some aids you in weight loss.
interesting .. I'm a big carb eater and a woman d'un certain age and I would be interested in seeing those studies if you have links please
It's been eons since I've read anything scientific, I've more been reading summaries in books and what not. But there are a number of them on pubmed, as well as articles on estrogen supplementation and carbohydrate metabolism.
Here's but one...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7877818
I guess if you think about reproductive hormones, and some of the issues some women face it makes a certain sense. No clue if it varies by person, I would assume it does, as most things hormonal do.
cheers0 -
mikesmom1983 wrote: »I'm 58 and was convinced I couldn't lose weight. I am 5' 3-3/4', needed to lose at least 43 lbs. and came upon a "formula" that worked for me. I got a fitbit to motivate myself to move more, increased protein, decreased sugar (to stop cravings), replaced non and low fat foods with full fat (felt fuller longer), and increased water.
I have managed to lose 34 lbs. since September. My loss has been slow, but steady. I have noticed that I am sensitive to sodium so I make sure I don't have a high sodium meal the night before I weigh in.
I went from wearing size 14 jeans to size 8-10. This is the smallest I've been since I was in my 30's!
Be patient and good luck!
Well done!1 -
I'm 56 and 5'7. I lost 46 lbs between ages 51-56. Going from 183lbs to 137.
I started by eliminating gluten/processed foods (or almost anyway) and slowly over about 3 years lost 26lbs.
Then I stopped losing.
Almost 2 years ago I started MFP. And lost 20lbs more.
Talk about slow, but that's ok.
I consider myself lightly active, don't work out/run, etc.
Just stick to your daily calorie goal, log accurately (weigh/measure everything) and you will lose.1 -
mikesmom1983 wrote: »I'm 58 and was convinced I couldn't lose weight. I am 5' 3-3/4', needed to lose at least 43 lbs. and came upon a "formula" that worked for me. I got a fitbit to motivate myself to move more, increased protein, decreased sugar (to stop cravings), replaced non and low fat foods with full fat (felt fuller longer), and increased water.
I have managed to lose 34 lbs. since September. My loss has been slow, but steady. I have noticed that I am sensitive to sodium so I make sure I don't have a high sodium meal the night before I weigh in.
I went from wearing size 14 jeans to size 8-10. This is the smallest I've been since I was in my 30's!
Be patient and good luck!
Well done! I too have switched out low fat for full fat for satiety. This lowered my carbs. Maybe this helps with the hormonal issues?
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I'm post menopausal and lost 60 lbs in less than a year (I'm 54 this August). I cut calories to lose weight and did T25 and now run just about every day for fitness. I started to lift heavy but got lazy with that, I NEED to get back to that because I loved it. I don't think the loss was any slower for me than someone younger. Five days is not a long time and if you are working out your body is holding water to repair itself...give it a few more weeks. One other thing, I didn't cut out anything from my diet, I eat pizza, breads, candy, ice cream, I just eat less of it and keep it within my calorie allotment.
Love the flow chart by the way.0 -
mamapeach910 wrote: »mikesmom1983 wrote: »I'm 58 and was convinced I couldn't lose weight. I am 5' 3-3/4', needed to lose at least 43 lbs. and came upon a "formula" that worked for me. I got a fitbit to motivate myself to move more, increased protein, decreased sugar (to stop cravings), replaced non and low fat foods with full fat (felt fuller longer), and increased water.
I have managed to lose 34 lbs. since September. My loss has been slow, but steady. I have noticed that I am sensitive to sodium so I make sure I don't have a high sodium meal the night before I weigh in.
I went from wearing size 14 jeans to size 8-10. This is the smallest I've been since I was in my 30's!
Be patient and good luck!
Well done! I too have switched out low fat for full fat for satiety. This lowered my carbs. Maybe this helps with the hormonal issues?
This is what I've done the last while as well. It *does* seem to even out the hormones a bit for me. And if the scale creeps up on holiday or what not, lowering carbs a bit and eating a bit more fat makes it much easier to get it to tick back down.
And of course, staying at my goal weight helps with my hormones.0 -
Wow thanks for all the encouragement. I was just at a bookclub lunch meeting at my job earlier and all of us are post menopausal and heard similar tales (they're all nurses, I'm a social worker so they have a more medical/physiological take on this than I). They too have lost and maintained but like you've all said it takes longer and we all need fewer calories than previous to the 'change'. I just wanted to know it's possible. I went on a weight loss journey with my daughter 4 years ago - weight watchers and she lost 50 and I lost 20 within 6 months, the weight just melted off and I kept it off for 2 years after. I've never experienced dieting and working out and NOT having lost anything but it seems I need to give my body some time to adjust - I was so disappointed this morning -thought in a premenopausal head that I should have dropped a couple of pounds and would have 5 years ago - alas not so this time around but I'm encouraged as long as I know it can happen - Thanks again everyone!!!!0
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I went on a weight loss journey with my daughter 4 years ago - weight watchers and she lost 50 and I lost 20 within 6 months, the weight just melted off and I kept it off for 2 years after. I've never experienced dieting and working out and NOT having lost anything but it seems I need to give my body some time to adjust.
I was so disappointed this morning -thought in a premenopausal head that I should have dropped a couple of pounds and would have 5 years ago - alas not so this time around but I'm encouraged as long as I know it can happen.
A healthy, sustainable loss is .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight. So be patient!
Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. And what works for each of us changes over time. Learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Logging is simple, but it ain't easy. Logging works.0 -
Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. And what works for each of us changes over time. Learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Logging is simple, but it ain't easy. Logging works.[/quote]
I agree with this. I'm 52, 5'8" and eating 1800 calories a day (plus exercise calories, definitely) and I'm finally losing. It seemed to take forever to kick in. I do not have much to lose, about 8 pounds. I'm down 6 lbs. It's taken several months - so speed is not on my side, but I also don't want to cut my calories down too low. Slow & steady is okay with me. (And chocolate. Chocolate is very okay with me.)
I'm trying to do more with small weights and resistance bands, as well as Leslie Sansone cardio DVDs. Everything aches. I figure it's just the price of getting old. (sob).1 -
5 days is too soon to see a loss, especially if you have 20 lbs. or less to lose. The weight will come off more slowly after menopause, but you can lose; you just have to be stricter with tracking calories because metabolism does go down. I'm 56 and 5'1.5" -- double whammy, over 50 and short. My BMR as measured during a fitness assessment is only around 1100, which means that if I eat 1200 on a day when I'm not active, I'll actually gain weight. I thought that BMR assessment was too low, but now have a Fitbit HR, and it's right on target. On an average active day, I use around 1400 calories (this is also known as TDEE). I just came back from an overseas trip and there was one day that I spent 6 hours on the touring bus-- my calories used that day -- 900.1
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It is possible.
I am 61 now, but my weight loss journey started when I saw a Christmas photo of a short, fat, menopausal, grey haired woman and realized it was me!
That February I weighed myself- 130lb at 5'1, found a calorie counting site, started looking for an exercise I could tolerate- aqua fit, and dyed my hair strange colours.
I lost the weight at .5lb a week eating 1200 cal plus 50% exercise and haven't looked back. That was in 2008 (55yo) and have maintained with a slide of 5 lb ( 100-105) since then.
It took almost a year to do it, but in that time I realized the weight gain was more to do with lack of activity, I used to go out dancing a lot, than over eating, so calorie control wasn't a big challenge.
Experimenting with exercise was a challenge as i am a natural bookworm, but it made it more fun.
I have walked 10ks, learnt to swim, tried Pilates, belly dancing, Zumba, worked my way through body weight exercises using Nerdfitness, learnt how to use the machines at the gym ( not my fav), and taken a women on weights course to learn how to lift heavy (for me) safely. I can manage to dead lift half my weight at this point, the rest of my lifting is still hand weights, but as long as I am progressing I am happy. And so are my muscles.
Keep at a deficit, move more, and it will come off.
Cheers, h.4
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