Pre Menopause and Menopause struggles

Picoides wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

Picoides wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

midlomel1971 wrote: »

I'll be 46 this August. What are the signs of pre-menopause?

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/66-peri-menopause-menopause-symptoms-you-may-experience-which-may-help-some-ladies-271903

Thanks for posting that. I'm 47 and knew I was having perimenopause symptoms but there were a lot of things on that list that I'm having that I didn't realize could be perimenopause (the itchy/crawly skin, dizziness, teeth aching, tinnitus, etc.).

Turns out, the itchy skin & dizziness are pretty common. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10482404/is-it-over-yet-the-perimenopause-thread/p1

Oh wow - I'm going to go dive into that thread! Thanks for the link!

You and others on here may be interested in this group:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/506-near-or-post-menopausal-group

I'm 52yo, and in the throws of peri-menopause. Of course my body keeps tricking me into thinking I'm starting menopause (last two years, no period for 2 months during the summer; this year, no period from Jan - Jun), and then tells me it was just kidding and my period starts up again with a vengeance. Here's hoping that the fourth time of this is the charm.

I'm glad I lost my weight last year (8 months to lose 25-30 pounds), as this year, when my period came back, I've been in a very demotivated state, and have been bingeing more lately ~ likely all hormonal. I'm still in my maintenance range, but starting to get near the top of it, and my motivation to get my workouts done has taken a nose dive in the past few months. My friends that have been through menopause (which is one year without your period), have all told me it will get better on the other side.

I have to agree that while you are in peri-menopause (as is what most people here are in), it's still just about calories in vs calories out - log EVERYTHING. And for me, there were plenty of days that I wanted more calories in, so I made sure that those days I did more exercise to get a bigger burn...so yes, I'm one of those people that exercised more to be able to eat more (seems to be bad to some on the forums, but hey, it worked for me).

Also, as we get older, be sure you are getting enough protein! (I still believe that protein deficiencies are causing a lot of our aches and pains, but have only seen anecdotal evidence at this point.) The US RDA for protein are way, way too low for older folks, and should only be considered the bare minimum for survival as we age...not the optimal intake for healthy living. There are more studies coming out that as we age, we need to be getting nearly double what the RDA recommends, but they are just starting to come out in the past few years. (I have a list if anyone wants it.) From what I've seen Australia seems to be on the ball with having different recommendations for various age bands. So be careful about reducing your protein...if you are going plant based, be sure to make sure you have a good protein source, and same if you are eliminating dairy for the hot flashes as recommended earlier...make sure you have a good alternate means for getting the protein you are dropping by dropping dairy. At 125lbs, my goal is about 100 g of protein a day, though I'm happy if I'm over 75g. If I drop below about 60g for more than a day, the aches and pains are amplified for me (YMMV). [Note: US RDA would say 34g is acceptable, but double is 68g.]

I think @cee2ski wrote the best advice on here for getting through it all. Extra grace for yourself is definitely needed during this time, but we all will get through it, and if you really watch your CICO, you can lose during this time. It's just a big game of "do not fool thyself" into thinking you are eating less than you are, or burning more calories than you really are. And frankly, if you are just able to maintain during this time, holding steady/firm sometimes needs to be good enough during this time when so much else is going on with your body.