Will being post-menapausal really make weight loss more difficult?

I turned 50 in June and am post menopausal as well. I've battled my weight for my entire life and have tried almost every fad there was. I lose, but gain it back. I really think MFP and Calories In/Calories Out is the magic bullet for me.

It is harder to lose weight as I get older as my metabolism has definitely slowed, so to lose weight, I have been at 1200 calories per day since February, when I joined MFP . I have lost 45 lbs so far, I'd like to go another 5 or 10. I'm 5'5" and am now 153-154 lbs, size 8 pants (down from 14/16). To compensate for the low calorie allotment, I take Spin classes 4 to 5 times a week. This way I can still enjoy extra food on the weekends and wine Friday and Saturday nights.

My advice is to be very strict with weighing and measuring your food, and log everything, especially at the beginning when you are in full rapid loss. Try to work in exercise and increase it as you can. Find an exercise program that you enjoy, otherwise you might find it is easy to talk yourself out of doing it. As time goes on, I started to get better at estimating my food portions, but probably am underestimating a bit because my loss has really slowed down. If you see your loss stalling or you start to gain, go back to strict measuring.

Don't forget this is a lifestyle change, not a diet, and it has to be sustainable. Eat what you want, as long as you stay within your calorie deficit goal. If you have a bad day or two, who cares? If you enjoyed it, great. Life is short. Ya gotta live a little. Then brush it off and get back to business.

I'm not an expert in macros, but I do try to keep heavier in protein, then good fats and carbs.

Good luck. Feel free to friend request me. Having support and encouragement is also very helpful.

It is no harder to lose.
Expect your calorie goal to be slightly lower than some one in their 20's unless you are incredibly active.

Many find their daily activity level has slowly dropped over the years and this can lead to a lower BMI.

The average lowering, depending on weight, height, and gender, is 50-100 cals per decade from the age of full maturity, early 20's.
So this has been happening a long time.
Adding in purposeful daily exercise, 30-60 min can help off set this and when entered into MFP will give you extra calories.
Moving more in your daily activities gives you no extra calories, but it does make it easier to lose even if you enter sedentary a certain amount of movement is expected- about 2500 steps min.

The other thing that can affect our BMI is the loss of muscle mass.

Again this is gradual over the decades, not a sudden menopausal event. As the saying goes- if you don't use it; you lose it. So some resistance work that is continuously challenging your muscles is a really good idea. Protein has been shown to be very important in muscle retention as we age, even with minimal exercise. .8-1g per pound of ideal body weight.

Hormone level changes can lead to more visceral fat (around the stomach) and less subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat can lead to a number of problems, as can the change in hormone levels. It is well wortha visit to your doctor and getting a check up to rule out problems like t2 diabetes, etc.

A reasonable calorie deficit, a bit of extra movement, a clean, or suitably treated, bill of health, and a woman in any stage of menopause should be able to lose weight.

Remember, CICO doesn't know how old you are- it works for everyone.

Cheers, h.
( I lost during menopause 54yo and have kept the weight off. Now 63)