Is it possible to get through Menopause without weight gain? If so please share your secrets!

My mom didn't gain weight at menopause. At 82, she struggles to stay above Underweight. She is extremely active and eats a lot of whole foods, including bulky, low calorie veggies. This is just the way she has always liked to eat.

I am peri-M, less active (desk job), and eat more, so weight is a struggle for me.

I also seem to be hungrier than I used to be just a few years ago, so will discuss this with my GP and GYN next time I see them. Meanwhile, I will try upping protein and fiber.

Also typically we become less active around this time of life. I’m peri. Not gained weight so far but I do work out every day.

At about the same time of life, it's pretty common for women to be entering a phase of life that includes less daily-life activity. (As context, I'm 64, BTW, so definitely post-menopausal. Six months of chemotherapy threw me instantly into menopause in my mid-40s - and no, it didn't make me lose any material amount of weight.)

My younger self had more active jobs, for example, where later I was sitting at a desk or in meetings most of the day. Many of us, at younger ages, are building a comfortable life (moving house, redecorating, getting the yard/garden in shape, etc.), and for budgetary reasons doing a lot of things ourselves that later in life we may automate (roomba, riding lawn mower) or hire out (some housework or yard work, home improvement projects). Our social lives may involve more activity (walking, dancing) in our 20s-30s, and by the time we're in our 50s-60s, there might be more social events revolving around eating/drinking (perhaps in higher-priced places with richer foods, besides ).

Clearly, not all of those things are universal, but it's not profoundly unusual to have a little lower daily life activity (not counting exercise) as we get older. If weight has crept up a bit along the way, that can make activity less enjoyable, so create a negative feedback situation.

I'd point out that 10 pounds a year of weight gain requires eating only on average 100 calories daily above maintenance calories (or moving enough less to amount to 100 calories average less calorie burn daily). That's not very much: It's about half a serving of peanut butter, or (at 150 pounds) about 30 minutes of slow walking (2.5mph), so maybe 3,000 or so steps. There are big cumulative effects from small changes in daily life.

On top of that, most everyone will lose muscle mass as they age, unless they act deliberately to counteract that. Muscle is slightly more metabolically active than the equivalent weight in fat (about 2 calories per pound per day more, IIRC). That's a small effect, but it adds to the mix. Also, as we lose muscle mass, active things that were once easy and fun gradually become more difficult and easier to want to avoid.

Sometimes women aggravate the muscle mass loss by yo-yo dieting, usually low-balling protein in those situations in favor of salads, preferring cardio to weight training, trying to lose weight quickly with extreme or fad diets. That causes more than the minimum of lean-tissue loss. When that loss phase ends, it's common to give up the exercise, and regain while eating relative lots of carbs/fats vs. protein still, so regain is almost entirely fat. Repeat that enough times, and body composition suffers.

It's common among women to blame menopause for late in life weight gain, and maybe there's something to that, but I suspect the factors above are at least as significant . . . and happily, both daily life activity and muscle mass are very significantly under our individual control.

To me, it makes the most sense to focus on things I can influence or control (what I eat, how I exercise and go about daily life), and not worry so much about things I can't change at all (menopausal status, my hypothyroidism, etc.).

I lost about 50 pounds at age 59-60, from obese to a healthy weight. That was in 2015. Heading into 2020, I'm still at a healthy weight (mid-130s pounds at 5'5").

With respect to sweet cravings specifically, it helped me to make it a point to increase my fruit consumption. This won't work for everyone, but I'm not the only one here who's had that result; it could be worth trying. At first, I strove for 3 servings of fruit daily. After a period of time, I wasn't craving cookies/candy/baked goods like I had before, and eventually many of those things started tasting boring and "just sweet", not even all that desirable. (I still like a good, rich dessert now and then ). Nowadays, I just eat fruit when I feel like it, one serving most days, several on other days.

I don't much have an opinion about location of weight gain in menopause vs. earlier: I was fat for a long time, so I can't say I remember. These days, weight variation shows up somewhere between thighs and ribcage, but I kind of think that was always my gain first/lose last area. Belly specifically, I don't recall.

Clearly, others will differ in opinion or experience about the above stuff, but this has been my experience and perception.

Best wishes for much success with MFP! :flowerforyou:

saggynaggy65 wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

Paperpudding anecdotal evidence n=1.

Did not gain weight at menopause.

Gained weight gradually over 10 years or so pre menopause - so called middle age spread.

Started weight loss in Jan 2013, then age 49 and pre menopausal. Lost 10 kg in 10 months to get to healthy BMI.
Then maintained weight, still logging ( albeit mostly in loose approximations ) from then on.
Last period in August 2018, then aged 54.
The amount of calories needed for maitenance did not change from Nov 2013, when I reached goal weight, to now, over 6 years later despite starting before menopause and now being clearly past it.


PS as an aside, nothing much else changed either - I have the same job working at around the same hours, the same finances, lifestyle etc - which also supports Ann's theory that lifestyle changes account for more of this common weight gain than hormonal changes

PPS as another aside, I don't find menopause to be some taboo subject nobody talks about nor a 'dreaded life change'
Certainly a common topic talked about on these forums and IME ( which, yes, I realise isn't everyone's) nothing much changed at all - except of course no more periods and some minor hot flushes. Mildly annoying more than dreadful, to me.

Consider yourself one of the lucky ones. My symptoms are a living hell and so are a lot of other women's! Nobody I know ever talked about menopause or told me about the symptoms of menopause so I don't agree with you there. I actually find your remarks to my post rather snide than helpful.

Have you discussed hormone replacement therapy with your doctor?

And Paper Pudding was not snide. She very specifically said that was her experience, and acknowledged that it isn't the same for everyone.

saggynaggy65 wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

Paperpudding anecdotal evidence n=1.

Did not gain weight at menopause.

Gained weight gradually over 10 years or so pre menopause - so called middle age spread.

Started weight loss in Jan 2013, then age 49 and pre menopausal. Lost 10 kg in 10 months to get to healthy BMI.
Then maintained weight, still logging ( albeit mostly in loose approximations ) from then on.
Last period in August 2018, then aged 54.
The amount of calories needed for maitenance did not change from Nov 2013, when I reached goal weight, to now, over 6 years later despite starting before menopause and now being clearly past it.


PS as an aside, nothing much else changed either - I have the same job working at around the same hours, the same finances, lifestyle etc - which also supports Ann's theory that lifestyle changes account for more of this common weight gain than hormonal changes

PPS as another aside, I don't find menopause to be some taboo subject nobody talks about nor a 'dreaded life change'
Certainly a common topic talked about on these forums and IME ( which, yes, I realise isn't everyone's) nothing much changed at all - except of course no more periods and some minor hot flushes. Mildly annoying more than dreadful, to me.

Consider yourself one of the lucky ones. My symptoms are a living hell and so are a lot of other women's! Nobody I know ever talked about menopause or told me about the symptoms of menopause so I don't agree with you there. I actually find your remarks to my post rather snide than helpful.

I am sorry that you are suffering so much, the range of symptoms and experience varies wildly from woman to woman. A lot of my friends had to get help from their medical teams to deal with the symptoms. I hope you can do the same and find some intervention that will help you.

I hope you won't think I am being snide when I say that in my experience here in the UK there was a lot of information and discussion regarding the menopause, among my friends of course but also some TV programmes, leaflets in my doctors office and of course online on health websites and fitness sites like this one. I do consider myself one of the lucky ones as I pretty much sailed through, didn't notice any particular weight gain issues but then my weight has yo yo'd most of my life. However I did suffer almost uncontrollable mood swings that scared the hell out of me, but I found a herbal supplement that helped even them out.

Yes a lot of things change in a woman's body at this time but there is a lot of help out there now and your medical team should be able to find something to help alleviate your symptoms.

The good news is it doesn't last forever. You will get through it.

No secrets regarding weight gain, keeping in a calorie deficit is all that is needed to lose weight, it is a bit of myth that weight gain during menopause is inevitable.