Menopause

It is true that metabolism slows down, but I think MFP takes this into account since it asks for our date of birth. Metabolism slows in both men and women as a normal part of aging, but the it slows gradually over time. Exercise helps combat this.

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Knock on wood, but so far I seem to be lucky -- I was menopausal even before losing an ovary (benign tumor) last year and so far, I haven't had any problems losing weight. In fact I lose a little faster than MFP calculates I should. I do think exercise becomes more important as we get older, simply because most people are less active during non-exercise time.

I had one heck of a time with low iron during perimenopause and would not have wanted to try to lose weight during that time since I could barely stand up, much less exercise. But after getting my various health issues settled, menopause itself has not been a hindrance to weight loss.

theresamommyof4 wrote: »

YepItsKriss wrote: »

Unfortunately not true as i had a woman at work in her 60's set up a MFP account and she lost weight by counting calories with no problems.

I didn’t say “impossible”, I just said “harder”. I know a lot of people, after menopause, who eat well, exercise, and literally do everything right, including counting calories on MFP, who just have a harder time than they used to. We all say, “the older we get, the harder it is”, and in my experience, it’s absolutely the truth.

My mom went from a size 16 to a size 6 in her late 50’s. She totally nailed it, but the weight didn’t just melt off. It was hard work, and it took her sticking to it.

I’m just giving my experience, and as well meaning as you are, you can’t discredit someone’s experiences based on that one person you know at work. Everyone’s body is different. Hormone imbalances absolutely can make weight loss difficult.

I will agree with you that it's harder. I'm not sure that "menopause" itself made it harder, but it's most definitely harder than it was 20 years ago. But I am actually chalking that up to losing muscle mass (which is another term for "metabolism slowing down").

I am able to lose weight. It takes me longer and I get to eat, IMO, far less calories than I got to eat even in my 40s. For instance, I used to lose pretty reliably on 1700 calories. Now, 1700 calories is maintenance for me and, in fact, sometimes I can see myself trending upward on that so I have to go back down for a short time to 1400-1500 calories. It sucks.

My life hasn't changed much over the last 20 years. In fact, I think I'm probably more active than I was in my 30s. I have always worked a sedentary job and never had much time for regular exercise due to having children while working. Now, I'm free, I exercise at least 3 times a week, and I move more than I used to during the day. Doesn't seem to give me more calories though!! It's weird.

Anyway, I really do chalk it up to loss of muscle mass. Once you hit menopause and you don't have the estrogen, progesterone (and small amounts of testosterone) like you used to, I think loss of muscle takes a surge downward where it was a more steady loss before. I can see a huge difference in the way my muscle tone looks just after 2 years without estrogen. Menopause, for me, kicked off more of a rapid aging, than at any time before that. My friend who is right behind me with menopause is noticing the same thing.

evileen99 wrote: »

I think by the time menopause hits, the kids have left the home and the mom isn't running around as much as she used to, decreasing her TDEE. And as pp said, the loss of muscle mass is HUGE. You really have to hit the weights to maintain it.

In my case, I was much more sedentary (I think) when my kids were home. They weren't overly involved in activities, and certainly when I was in my 40s and they were high school aged, I wasn't running much. I think I was just trying to stay on top of getting dinner cooked after work and the laundry!

Now that they are mostly out of the house, I have time in the evening to go out and exercise. I know it's different for everyone, but I feel like I was less active when my kids were home.