Menopause tips...

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tammienichols316
tammienichols316 Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Can anyone relate...eating recommended calories, measuring, etc. It is so hard to lose especially now that I am in menopause. I am sure I should watch carbs but not sure the percentage of each food group I should be eating to help get better results.
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Replies

  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
    edited September 2017
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    I am going through menopause and my doctor said that weight management shouldn't be affected, even though a lot of people say that in their experience it is. She did say to watch carbs, but that's really the only advice I got. I cut way back on simple carbs like bread and pasta ( I still eat carbs in the form of veggies, fruits, dairy etc) and I feel like it's helped since I am still trying to lose.

    ETA - I don't think you HAVE to cut back on carbs. I can take them or leave them, so I leave them.
  • pennygm72
    pennygm72 Posts: 179 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Peri menopause sufferer here, I have lost over 50lbs since Jan 2017 eating high carb/ low fat...I always like to buck the trend! Other than that I've just followed MFP guidance on calories.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
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    Well, I am 51, almost 52. I am not quite in menopause yet--last period was in March, but I may be in a few months if another one doesn't happen. It's been scarce for the last 18 months--I thought I was done but that one caught me by surprise.

    Anyway, surprisingly with MFP I have lost weight. I really didn't expect it to work but it did. I started June 29 and I have lost 17 lbs. to date. I have a lot to lose. Now 83 pounds. I didn't expect to lose anything but I realized once I started logging that I had been eating too much, coupled with getting no sleep and a stressful job for the last 6 years. (I gained about 60 lbs. in the last six years).

    I had my goal set to 2 lb. per week, but changed it this week to 1 lb. because I had a stressful week and couldn't get the right meals in. I will keep in that way for another two weeks to keep the pressure off myself.

    I do not weigh my food--I'm going based on measuring cups. Because I have a lot to lose I don't think it matters as much. If you have only a small amount to lose it is going to be slow no matter what. With the 2 lb./week goal, my intake was only supposed to be 1280 calories per day. I usually exercised so that I would eat at least 1500-1600. (I ate back all of my exercise calories IF I had planned well) I found it doable only if I could really plan well what I ate--and I could not waste anything on junk food or empty calories for 1280 a day. For me I ate all types of whole food, including carbs, but I don't eat diary. I did not watch macros on MFP, just made sure that I had some kind of protein at least in two meals a day. In the morning it was usually peanuts in an almond milk smoothie or an egg. Some kind of meat or fish for lunch and then maybe all carbs for dinner, but sometimes light fish/meat. I work in the evenings so I do not like to eat a huge meal after working out after work--get home from the workout at 10:30 pm and if I don't work out, 9:00 pm. It is easier to eat more vegetables with that low calorie goal and feel full.

    How long have you been doing MFP? What are your calorie and loss goals?
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,680 Member
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    Menopause doesn't necessarily make it harder to lose weight. One thing that may make a difference is some people develop thyroid issues in their 40s and 50s, which can make it harder to lose weight until you get your medications adjusted. If you are bleeding heavily you may also have issues with anemia, which can make it harder to be active. If you stay active or get more active, you may have fewer menopause symptoms, like hot flashes, and your metabolism will be higher. FWIW - I'm 60, hypothyroid and anemic, but I weigh what I weighed in high school. I also run 35-40 mpw. I had no problems with menopause - except that it took about 3 years to finish. I'd bleed one day a year, but I never knew when that day would be. At 52, as predicted by my doctor, I was done.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
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    I'm 62 and weigh what I weighed in high school as well, with a little more sag and pudge around the middle. Just follow the program and weigh and log your food. You should lose weight like everyone else. Is it harder? It's always hard....
  • Catawampous
    Catawampous Posts: 447 Member
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    Biggest tip I can offer is to not let menopause be an excuse. I'm 55 and reached goal in May. The way I chose to do it and how you do it doesnt matter. Calories do. Find the foods that keep you fullest the longest and weigh your food!
  • Zinka61
    Zinka61 Posts: 523 Member
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    I put on 25+ lbs rapidly as soon as i went through menopause at 50. Still don't know why. But it came off easily following MFP calorie guidelines (I eat plant-based, so my carbs are high) when i was 53. As others have said, it's the calories that count, not how many carbs, etc, but the guidelines MFP sets for you are as good a way to balance your diet as any. I don't even log for carbs; I watch protein, calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamin C and avoid *added* sugars, but that's not for weight loss.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,944 Member
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    You might find this thread interesting ...

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10482404/is-it-over-yet-the-perimenopause-thread#latest
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
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    I am in menopause (53). Haven't had period for almost 2 years now. Losing weight is not any harder than it was when I was, say 48, and not in menopause. However, losing weight and the amount of food I can eat without gaining has definitely changed from my 20s and 30s. I chalk that up to muscle mass loss. Starting in your 30s, you slowly lose muscle mass if you aren't actively trying to increase it. When you start in peri- or full-blown menopause that rate of loss increased quite a bit. Less muscle actually does mean that you basal metabolic rate slows down. That rate is tied to your muscle stores. So it *seems* like menopause worsens weight loss. But it's really muscle loss which is normal for that age. Men have so much more than us and lose their mass at a slower rate, so they tend not have the same issues to the degree that women do. So it often gets blamed on menopause solely.
  • tammienichols316
    tammienichols316 Posts: 18 Member
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    Zinka61 wrote: »
    I put on 25+ lbs rapidly as soon as i went through menopause at 50. Still don't know why. But it came off easily following MFP calorie guidelines (I eat plant-based, so my carbs are high) when i was 53. As others have said, it's the calories that count, not how many carbs, etc, but the guidelines MFP sets for you are as good a way to balance your diet as any. I don't even log for carbs; I watch protein, calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamin C and avoid *added* sugars, but that's not for weight loss.

    Thank you and so happy you have success! I eat really healthy and about 1100 calories. Stepped on the scale this morning and gained a pound. So I am down 1 pound in almost 1 month on MFP...discouraging.
  • tammienichols316
    tammienichols316 Posts: 18 Member
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    lucerorojo wrote: »
    Well, I am 51, almost 52. I am not quite in menopause yet--last period was in March, but I may be in a few months if another one doesn't happen. It's been scarce for the last 18 months--I thought I was done but that one caught me by surprise.

    Anyway, surprisingly with MFP I have lost weight. I really didn't expect it to work but it did. I started June 29 and I have lost 17 lbs. to date. I have a lot to lose. Now 83 pounds. I didn't expect to lose anything but I realized once I started logging that I had been eating too much, coupled with getting no sleep and a stressful job for the last 6 years. (I gained about 60 lbs. in the last six years).

    I had my goal set to 2 lb. per week, but changed it this week to 1 lb. because I had a stressful week and couldn't get the right meals in. I will keep in that way for another two weeks to keep the pressure off myself.

    I do not weigh my food--I'm going based on measuring cups. Because I have a lot to lose I don't think it matters as much. If you have only a small amount to lose it is going to be slow no matter what. With the 2 lb./week goal, my intake was only supposed to be 1280 calories per day. I usually exercised so that I would eat at least 1500-1600. (I ate back all of my exercise calories IF I had planned well) I found it doable only if I could really plan well what I ate--and I could not waste anything on junk food or empty calories for 1280 a day. For me I ate all types of whole food, including carbs, but I don't eat diary. I did not watch macros on MFP, just made sure that I had some kind of protein at least in two meals a day. In the morning it was usually peanuts in an almond milk smoothie or an egg. Some kind of meat or fish for lunch and then maybe all carbs for dinner, but sometimes light fish/meat. I work in the evenings so I do not like to eat a huge meal after working out after work--get home from the workout at 10:30 pm and if I don't work out, 9:00 pm. It is easier to eat more vegetables with that low calorie goal and feel full.

    How long have you been doing MFP? What are your calorie and loss goals?

    I started MFP about 1 month ago. Set goal to lose 2 lbs a week....1200 cals. All but 1 day I haven eaten apprx 1100 cals. I eat very healthy and measure. My dr introduced me to MFP. She says I need intense cardio...she's a tri-athlete.
  • tammienichols316
    tammienichols316 Posts: 18 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Don't measure your food, weigh it, and log the amounts in grams, from correct (not "verified" or scanned) entries. Don'e leave anything out. Hit your calorie goal.

    If you find it hard to stick to recommended intake, you can up your calorie goal and get a slower rate of loss.

    You won't lose faster by reducing carbs unless that makes you eat fewer calories in total. MFP's default is fine.

    TY!
  • tammienichols316
    tammienichols316 Posts: 18 Member
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    Catawampous wrote: »
    Biggest tip I can offer is to not let menopause be an excuse. I'm 55 and reached goal in May. The way I chose to do it and how you do it doesnt matter. Calories do. Find the foods that keep you fullest the longest and weigh your food!

    TY...I have no problem with hunger and measure so I know I am tracking correctly. Following MFP to the "t". Didn't have trouble losing-maintaining util I hit 40.
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 4,831 Member
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    How tall are you? MFP sets your goal at 1200 regardless of how much weight per week you want to lose. Also, how much are you trying to lose? If you are say 4'11" and 56 and only have 10 pounds to lose you might be already at your TDEE. That of course means your intake is accurate. Are you eating back all your exercise calories if any? Just some thoughts. The biggest thing I noticed about losing weight in menopause is that the night sweats STOPPED completely when I quit eating a lot of sugar esp in the evenings. It's a completely unpopular opinion here but I (shhhh) actually have been losing about 1 lb per week the past 15 weeks eating under 1200 cals. .... shhhh. Yes - I am short and old. Pretty active. I do not eat back my exercise calories either. Good luck! Overall I recommend more activity - slowly increase. I liked the CT5K program a lot.
  • tammienichols316
    tammienichols316 Posts: 18 Member
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    cmriverside wrote: »
    If you are honest with your food intake, it is no harder in menopause.

    I lost 70+ pounds by watching my calories here on this site five years past menopause. I lost at almost exactly the rate as the goal wizard told me I would. I've kept that weight off for ten years now. It's not difficult once you commit.

    Don't use a normal body function as an excuse. It's still about calories in and calories out.

    I guess we are all different and some of us are not textbook.
  • MrsShonie
    MrsShonie Posts: 4 Member
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    I've been menopausal for 15 years now. Unfortunately, I wasn't given a choice for medical reasons at the age of 35. I was on HRT for 10 years and held my own with the weight. At the ten year mark I stopped with HRT and went from 130lbs to a whopping 160 in 5 years. I still ate the same crap as always did. I'm now 50 years old with a bad back and my knees constantly ache. Thanks to the workings of the female body we need the hormones to keep us in balance. Without them all kinds of weird wonderful and sometimes down right scary stuff happens.

    Losing weight is one of those scary things. The body doesn't process the fats and carbs like it used to, it simply stores it up for a rainy day when all you crave is the comfort food you used to eat. The trick is convincing yourself that a plate of fresh veg without the fattening mayo based dips or a pot of low fat low sugar yogurt can replace the the chips and dips and the ice cream from the days of old.

    I've been on my 'diet' for just a month now, I've only lost 5lbs but the inches are melting away. I'm not a gym type person but I know I need the exercise (I sit on my fat *kitten* in an office 9 hours a day 5 days a week). If you can, get yourself a personal trainer once a week. If he/she is any good, they will give you a tailored diet plan that will work wonders. Check with your local gym, they can help you find someone and they really aren't as spendy as you may think. That's what I have done and it has helped me with the motivation I lack. I'm not saying it's the golden bullet and will work for everyone, but honestly what do you have to lose other the the excess pounds.

    I truly wish you all the best!

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