Weight gain and menopause

tammy5670 · March 2021

Hi I’m 50 and have gained a lot of weight since I’m in menopause. Does anyone have suggestions as far as calories, macros etc. also need motivation to exercise as if my clothes not fitting isn’t enough?!? Help

AliceNov2011 · March 2021

Hello! Would love to connect. I think we menopausal/post-menopausal women have unique challenges. I like to cook and eat real food, mostly pescatarian.

ouryve · March 2021

Perimenopause was tough for me but now I'm in menopause I no longer have the cyclic cravings. My carb tolerance is shot, though.

callsitlikeiseeit · March 2021

its all about the deficit. however you obtain that.

@springlering62 is a wealth of knowledge regarding losing weight and fitness during and post menopause. Hopefully she will pop in and chime in to help you.

springlering62 · March 2021

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

its all about the deficit. however you obtain that.

@springlering62 is a wealth of knowledge regarding losing weight and fitness during and post menopause. Hopefully she will pop in and chime in to help you.

Aw, shucks! 🥰

IMHO it’s not so much menopause, it’s the fact that we slow down and get comfortable. We’re no longer chasing kids, might not be working any longer, and are just happier to sit down and kick up our feet these days.

I found that simply following MFP, weighing as accurately and logging as honestly as possible worked exactly as promised. I don’t feel like age or menopause had any effect.

Many here have lost weight without exercise, however, since I was no longer working, I decided to invest my time in me, including copious amounts of exercise once I discovered how much I liked being off the sofa. Exercise both “buys” you extra calories for eating (yay!!!) and returns generous health benefits, including (for me) faster weight loss. YMMV, of course.

You don’t have to knock yourself out. Walking is great, gentle stretching won’t burn much but does absolute wonders for flexibility, and simply makes it easier to get up to do other things.

I’ve started cleaning the house twice a week, not because it’s dirty, but because vacuuming and running around picking up and moving stuff is great exercise.

This is a great thread for ideas, too:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

My other advice would be, set yourself a reasonable weight loss goal. It’s so tempting to throw yourself in wholeheartedly and choose that “2lbs per week”, but the grind will hit you hard and soon. Remember you didn’t gain it all at once. Be kind to yourself and don’t try to lose it all at once either. Choose a slower loss, and teach yourself to creat habits that will remain long after the weight is gone.

AnnPT77 · March 2021

Great advice from @springlering62, as usual!

I'm another who lost weight in menopause. In one sense, there's IMO not much benefit in thinking about menopause as making it harder to lose/maintain weight. I often say that the wisest sign in the world is one we see in many places. It says "You Are Here". Doesn't matter where we'd like to be, where it would seem fair to be, or anything like that. Any step we take starts *here*, and with menopause, that scenery (per se) is not going to change, ever.

OTOH, most of the difference in calorie needs with age is lots of us are being less active (daily life, not just exercise), and losing muscle mass as we age (inactivity makes that happen faster). Both of those things are under our personal control to a large extent.

Figure out what calorie level gives you a slow, steady, manageable weight loss rate, but still lets you eat in a way that mostly keeps you full and happy. (Believe the MFP calorie goal for 4-6 weeks, then adjust if needed.) Shooting for super fast loss can be a slower route to goal weight, if the difficulty results in stops/starts (not to mention the risk of giving up altogether).

Increase activity in ways you find fun, or at least reasonably tolerable. It doesn't need to be some kind of extreme, intense, gym-based enterprise, if you don't enjoy that. It's a health bonus, though, if you find thing(s) that get your heart pumping a bit (not necessarily pounding out of your chest), and challenge your strength a bit (no one expects us to be Arnold Schwarzenegger).

I lost 50-some pounds, almost a third of my bodyweight, at age 59-60. You better believe I was in menopause then (also severely hypothyroid, BTW). I'm now 65, and have been at a healthy weight for those 5+ years, after 3 decades previously of obesity. Over the past year or so, I've been ultra-slowly losing a few vanity pounds, less than a pound a month, too slow to see on the scale most of the time. It's been almost totally painless . . . but I'm still around 15 pounds lighter.

You can do this. IMO, focusing on what we can control, and working with that, is a more productive strategy than worrying about the unchangeable.

Wishing you much success!

prgirl39mfp · March 2021

Post menopausal here. What has helped me tremendously is intermittent fasting and at age 49 eating as healthy and clean as I can. My digestive health is not in tip top shape and I am trying to fix that. Definitely move more and am more conscious of my reaction to certain foods, specially ones that did not cause havoc before. Work in progress.

julsmarshall · March 2021

I’m in the same boat! Just turned 52 and tired of losing the same weight over and over. Restarting MFP after awhile away and planning for success this time!

clairedrose · March 2021

I just read an article (I'll try to find it again) citing research showing that the loss of estrogen can slow metabolism and mess with satiety cues. According to the article, both issues can be mitigated via HIIT workouts and increasing proteins vs carbs. So I am looking for a HIIT workout kind to older joints.

mdbkids · April 2021

I am restarting. Before pandemic I'd lost 20 pounds, but have now gained 15 back this year. I'm in menopause and we've had some real challenges - hubby in an accident, me working from home (less steps and moving) and my mom living with us, kid health and other issues. But I need to hope back on this slow train that menopause seems to be making weight loss. Thanks for this discussion area.

Zinka61 · April 2021

Menopause was when I gained the weight that brought me here. The good news is you can lose it and keep it off by logging at a sensible deficit here, exercising, and soaking up support from MFP friends. I'm 60 now and sticking around here to maintain (and correct my all-too-frequent backsliding). Feel free to send me a friend request if you are active on here.

Weight gain and menopause

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