Menopause age dieter-NOT WORKING!

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alaskangypsy
alaskangypsy Posts: 6 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm 49 y/o, & am stuck in "menopause metabolic resistance." I'm doing Visalus 2x daily (lost 1 7lbs + 10.5 inches 3 years ago doing the same thing) but it's not working. I'm stuck & frustrated. Anyone else go thru this? How did you kick start the weight loss. Yes, I'm exercising and focusing on fruits & veggies. Eating like a bird. What am I doing wrong????

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  • Freebird30
    Freebird30 Posts: 1 Member
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    How many calories are you eating? I'm not losing either and was thinking maybe my calories are too low?
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    This flowchart has good troubleshooting suggestions:

    pow5kartqesd.jpg
  • alaskangypsy
    alaskangypsy Posts: 6 Member
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    Freebird30 wrote: »
    How many calories are you eating? I'm not losing either and was thinking maybe my calories are too low?

    I'm definitely eating too few calories too. But will that literally STOP weight loss?
  • alaskangypsy
    alaskangypsy Posts: 6 Member
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    I do have medical issues and take too many meds; mostly related to BP. Perhaps that's part of the problem. The only really new med I'm taking is Lithium, but I'm on the lowest dose possible. Being as Lithium is essentially salt, I wonder.....
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited July 2017
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    alaskangypsy wrote: »
    Freebird30 wrote: »
    How many calories are you eating? I'm not losing either and was thinking maybe my calories are too low?

    I'm definitely eating too few calories too. But will that literally STOP weight loss?
    No. If it did, people wouldn't starve to death.

    Weight loss is about energy balance. If you aren't losing weight, then you aren't consuming fewer calories than your body is using. You may think that you aren't eating enough calories but they are sneaking in somewhere and/or you aren't burning as many calories as you think you are.
  • alaskangypsy
    alaskangypsy Posts: 6 Member
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    I can't begin to imagine where! I have 2 90 Cal Visalus shakes daily, and one 2 cup salad in the afternoon which is comprised of lettuce, cabbage, onion, cauliflower & fat free dressing. I have a banana for a snack during the day, and I drink lots of water. There just aren't alot of calories there.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Did you read through the flowchart?

    How long have you been at this? Are you weighing all solids with a food scale (including your shake powder) and measuring all liquids?

    I have a lower-than-average BMR (there's a wide range over the population from what I've seen) so I don't lose as expected for the general population but I do lose based upon what I've calculated by tracking my personal numbers over time. You may need to carefully collect data for months to see where you are running into issues.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    alaskangypsy wrote: »
    I'm 49 y/o, & am stuck in "menopause metabolic resistance." I'm doing Visalus 2x daily (lost 1 7lbs + 10.5 inches 3 years ago doing the same thing) but it's not working. I'm stuck & frustrated. Anyone else go thru this? How did you kick start the weight loss. Yes, I'm exercising and focusing on fruits & veggies. Eating like a bird. What am I doing wrong????

    What you are doing wrong is eating more calories than you burn. Are you weighing all solids and semi-solids and measuring liquids? Are you logging everything?

    I found weigh loss to be much easier since menopause.
  • alaskangypsy
    alaskangypsy Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm counting the calories of every bite I eat. I'm averagin about 6-700 calories a day. This is not that I'm overeating by any stretch of the imagination.
  • Aurora_Lia
    Aurora_Lia Posts: 4 Member
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    It defiantly took a solid month of exercising and also eating well before my scale budged a pound, which is not what used to happened before menopause I still keep at it, and try to have fun and enjoy the process... I know I am impatient! I have to remind myself that what I am after is a lifetime of vitality and awesome energy and health, not a number on the scale. That helps me.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,119 Member
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    alaskangypsy wrote: »
    I'm counting the calories of every bite I eat. I'm averagin about 6-700 calories a day. This is not that I'm overeating by any stretch of the imagination.

    Definitely eat more. 1200 is the minimum for nutrition for women.

    Why try to live on supplement shakes? That sounds miserable.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,119 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Just to add...I lost my weight in menopause, eating between 1500-2300 calories every day. If you are actually eating 6-700 and not losing, get to the doctor, soon.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    Define "not working". What are your stats, how much weight are you trying to lose, how long have you been restricting calories, and what have been the results in that time? Hint: if it's been less than a month, you don't have enough data. How peri-menopause has affected me is that I have more extreme water weight fluctuations than I used to. These tend to mask my actual fat loss, so I can only see results over a month's time, if not longer.
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
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    The first step is using a food scale and logging accurately.

    You *should* be able to eat more. Fill out mfp accurately and go with that. Keep detailed records. After a few months you could seek outside help.

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