Pre Menopause and Menopause struggles

I got kicked into menopause early (49) after having uterine fibroids treated (with uterine artery embolism). I was also in a very high-stress situation from about 50-55 (toxic relationship with an alcoholic). I have finally come out of the end of the tunnel on both, and here is what I've got in terms of hints and support. First, evaluate the amount of stress in your life and do what you can to reduce it. My take-home from my experience is that 1) cortisol is a killer, and creates inflammation on every level that makes it very difficult to lose weight or stay motivated enough to stay on track. 2) Maybe the best/easiest (no special equipment required) way to reduce cortisol is to GET MORE SLEEP. 3) Go easy on yourself in terms of what you "should" be able to get done (including losing pounds). Nothing is the same any more, so really, you have no idea of what you "should" be able to do. You need to figure it out for yourself day by day. Check in with yourself frequently, by whatever means you do it (diary, video blog, meditation, whatever). 4) Movement (give yourself a break and quit calling it "exercise") is VERY important. Get out and do some movement every day you can, even if it's just a walk around the block in the morning. In fact, that is a great way to start your day in a non-stressful way-- it's early, before things can start falling down all around you, it's quiet and cooler (in the summer). 5) practice gratitude for what you have and what you are gaining (even from menopause-- no more periods! ). In fact, spend that 20 minutes on your morning walk concentrating on what you have to be grateful-- that is a double stress reliever. 6) Don't focus on the weight and scale while you're in menopause, because it's a set-up for disappointment because it's biochemically difficult. There is so much hormonal stuff going on, and nothing works like it used to. You don't process food the same way, you don't react to life the same way. So focus on reducing stress and working on good habits which are good for you regardless of what you weigh. The good news (seems to be for me, anyway) that once you're through menopause, it becomes less impossible to lose weight. Still hard, but less impossible.

Basically, menopause means that many of the strategies and work-arounds we figured out in the first half of our lives no longer work, and we need to figure out new ones. View it as an opportunity to create new good habits for the second half of your life, because it is, and we need those good habits as we get older and have less brute energy to solve problems simply by hurling ourselves at them. Good luck!

1) take iron supplements if you need them - I had terrible problems when I was perimenopausal, got very anemic.
2) have your thyroid checked, thyroid meds can make a huge different in how easy it is to lose weight.
3) there's some evidence that heavy lifting is better than cardio for reversing metabolic syndrome and losing that waist
4) you can do this, I've lost 55 lbs in 6 months and I'm postmenopausal with one ovary removed

What worked for me in menopause was walking. The only symptoms I had was maybe a couple hot flushes at night. But the misery was not there at all. I made sure that I exercised every day, walking really helped, cut back on processed food, sodium etc. Watching what you eat is really important.

I lost 24 lbs, felt good, guess what happened, became too comfortable. Now I am back and need to lose at least 30 lbs, its is a slow progress as I do not have a thyroid, but I am trying and plan to exercise every day.