Newly menopausal - Difficulty losing weight

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mangolady2013
mangolady2013 Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any women out there having sustainable weight loss success since being peri menopause/menopause? Things/ways that helped in the past aren’t now (calorie restriction, increased exercise). Been doing time restriction eating (10-16 hours “fasting” with subsequent 8-14 hour eating window. BTW, trying to keep carbohydrates low and healthy food choices).
There’s tons of snake oil pills, powders, supplements, etc,… on the internet and social media promising weight loss.
Has anything or means been helpful and sustainable?

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,172 Member
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    When you say calorie restriction and exercise don't work, what period are you talking about that you tried? As I understand it, perimenopause is often accompanied by greater water weight fluctuations, which means you need to give it more time before evaluating if your strategy is working.

    I would recommend using a weight trending app such as Libra (for Android) or Happy Scale (for iOS) to get a better view of your progress.

    In the end it's about finding the right number of calories to lose weight. Low carb, time restricted eating,... are possible tools to lower calorie intake, but no guarantee for weight loss in and of themselves.

    Going too low in your calories can backfire (large calorie deficit = stress = possible cause of water retention, and eating too little can drain your energy level) and exercise, while healthy, can also cause water retention when it's new or more intense than before. So it's important to be patient.
  • mangolady2013
    mangolady2013 Posts: 2 Member
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    I’ve been working at losing weight for several months. I have about 15 lbs to lose to reach my goal weight. Although my BMI is 24.5%, I feel best at 21-22%.

    I’ll keep working at it because what’s the alternative? Do nothing? It’s just frustrating as all heck.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,015 Member
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    Yeah, mangolady2013, the last 15 is tough.

    I lost the first 65 pounds in about eight months. It took me another nine full months to lose that last 15 pounds.

    I had to cut way back on carbs, prepare all my own meals, log all my food using my digital food scale, walk nearly every day and I was hungry a lot of the time. I mean, hungry. Many days I just couldn't stick to my calorie goal.

    Keepa go. You can do it. There's no Finish Deadline. I got there when I got there.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    I have not reached menopause, but I have noticed that weird hormone times definitely affect my calorie needs. I agree with PPs that the last few pounds can be harder to lose and harder to observe because of natural weight fluctuations. If it won't drive you nuts, weighing daily can help you observe the trend down more easily so you don't get discouraged.

    I like to increase exercise to keep my calories at a level where I don't feel super super hungry. Walking is a great low impact way to do that, and you can give yourself a small calorie "cushion" that makes things feel more bearable.

    If it helps, you can also think about this slow weight loss time as practice for maintenance - a small deficit is not far off from where your needs will be once you reach your goal.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,015 Member
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    Yeah, a small deficit is really the only way. However, I was only at a 200 calorie per day deficit for that last 15 pounds and I was still very hungry probably half the time. I had lost a lot of weight, and had logged food in Maintenance so I was very sure of my calorie numbers.

    I even waited a year post losing that first 65 pounds. I could have just stayed at 155, that was still inside the healthy weight BMI. I just wasn't completely happy with that. 140-145 is where I want to stay.
  • staciw
    staciw Posts: 58 Member
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    Thanks for this post. I’m 50 and in menopause. Can’t believe what terrible things have happened to my body in the last six months. Really need to figure this new normal out before it consumes me. I’ve read a lot in the last few days, and I’ve seen “increase veggies” over and over again.
  • drgmac
    drgmac Posts: 715 Member
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    I’m going to be 56 in two days, I have not gained any weight at all in menopause. I will tell you though that I have had to tweak my diet and exercise routine considerably. I can no longer eat like I am 20, 30, or even 40. I eat only unprocessed, whole foods, with no refined carbs such as white bread, white rice or potatoes…absolutely no sugar or alcohol and lots of low fat high protein. I was a life long runner and have found interval training and weight lifting much more conducive to maintaining my weight and same shape. I am 5’7” and 115 pounds.

    The biggest key, and I cannot stress this enough is your diet. I have an occasional cheat meal, but for the most part I eat very cleanly and I eat a lot. You’d be surprised how much you can eat when you aren’t putting crackers, cookies, and other junk in Tom your body. Please read labels…sugar and corn syrup are in just about everything and I believe this has contributed to our nation becoming less healthy—not just women in menopause. DM me if you’d like more information. I feel healthy, strong, and not deprived of food. Cheers!
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,385 Member
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    drgmac wrote: »
    I’m going to be 56 in two days, I have not gained any weight at all in menopause. I will tell you though that I have had to tweak my diet and exercise routine considerably. I can no longer eat like I am 20, 30, or even 40. I eat only unprocessed, whole foods, with no refined carbs such as white bread, white rice or potatoes…absolutely no sugar or alcohol and lots of low fat high protein. I was a life long runner and have found interval training and weight lifting much more conducive to maintaining my weight and same shape. I am 5’7” and 115 pounds.

    The biggest key, and I cannot stress this enough is your diet. I have an occasional cheat meal, but for the most part I eat very cleanly and I eat a lot. You’d be surprised how much you can eat when you aren’t putting crackers, cookies, and other junk in Tom your body. Please read labels…sugar and corn syrup are in just about everything and I believe this has contributed to our nation becoming less healthy—not just women in menopause. DM me if you’d like more information. I feel healthy, strong, and not deprived of food. Cheers!
    It’s great that this works for you, but OP you need to find what you can stick to and what suits YOU.

    I, for example, eat potatoes, bread, cakes, chocolate, drink alcohol - but all as part of a varied diet. I’m in full peri with a history of hormonal issues but I maintain my weight by sticking to my calorie limits. I personally could not go low carb or cut out sugar as I need them for my training, but I do know others prefer a low carb high fat diet.

    We definitely need to get our vitamins in, so eat veggies and fruit, and there is some evidence that women don’t metabolise protein as well once we’ve been through the menopause, so increasing your protein a bit would be sensible.

    I did read a study recently (I’ll try to find it and link it) which suggested lower carb diets could help night sweats in menopausal women, but it was in a small sample and again, it had to work for your lifestyle.

    I eat well generally and prefer simple home cooked food, but peri can make me feel horrible and kick my *kitten*. There’s no way I’m adding food deprivation to my list of symptoms and a good slab of cake or a buttery baked potato might just get me through the day 😀
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    Almost 60 and I think waaaay too many women rely on menopause as an excuse to let everything go to pot. (I see it on other forums that have nothing to do with weight loss, interestingly.)

    I think maintaining weight at this age is easier in some respects -- I have TIME to exercise, prep food, log food, look at the trends and wonder about it all. I will not go gently into that dark night if I can help it. Committed exercise and a calorie goal make me feel safer about things -- and I know, there are no safety guarantees in this world, but there you have it.
  • Sinisterbarbie1
    Sinisterbarbie1 Posts: 712 Member
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    Original question was whether anyone is doing anything sustainable - yes— weighing everything I can and recording calories here daily and adjusting what I eat as needed to keep at or below maintenance. I lost 79lbs that way. I confess I did also make a major lifestyle change around the same time - I cut way back and then stopped drinking alcohol entirely. That obviously doesn’t account for the bulk of the weight loss but it did make it easier in several respects - I don’t have any drink calories to count, I didn’t get uninhibited in my snacking after having a glass of wine, I sleep way better (hot flashes were worse for me even with a tiny bit of alcohol, and poor sleep somehow ends up in me consuming more calories to have the energy to make it through the day).
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,429 Member
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    I'm in year 7 of maintaining a 50+ po
    drgmac wrote: »
    I’m going to be 56 in two days, I have not gained any weight at all in menopause. I will tell you though that I have had to tweak my diet and exercise routine considerably. I can no longer eat like I am 20, 30, or even 40. I eat only unprocessed, whole foods, with no refined carbs such as white bread, white rice or potatoes…absolutely no sugar or alcohol and lots of low fat high protein. I was a life long runner and have found interval training and weight lifting much more conducive to maintaining my weight and same shape. I am 5’7” and 115 pounds.

    The biggest key, and I cannot stress this enough is your diet. I have an occasional cheat meal, but for the most part I eat very cleanly and I eat a lot. You’d be surprised how much you can eat when you aren’t putting crackers, cookies, and other junk in Tom your body. Please read labels…sugar and corn syrup are in just about everything and I believe this has contributed to our nation becoming less healthy—not just women in menopause. DM me if you’d like more information. I feel healthy, strong, and not deprived of food. Cheers!

    I'm another who hasn't eliminated bread, rice, potatoes, alcohol, or sugar - though I don't eat boatloads of those - nor would I call myself low fat/high protein. (If I don't get enough fat, my digestive system responds poorly, in fact.) Food choice for best results can be quite individual.

    For myself, I do eat protein above USDA RDAs, because recent research suggests that's a good insurance move for people who are active, losing weight, aging, or eating lots of plant protein. (I'm vegetarian, but wouldn't encourage others to be simply for nutritional or weight loss reasons.)

    Overall good nutrition is important IMO, and many people do find relatively less processed foods more filling (in contrast to highly refined foods - "processing" is not the devil, but processing out useful nutrients is not IMO a great thing, despite being common).

    Despite eating a mix of foods, I lost weight fine in full menopause, at age 59-60, while also severely hypothyroid (properly medicated), and have maintained a healthy weight for 7 years since. By objective metrics, I'm fitter than average for my age (67). IMO, the key things are appropriate calories, good overall nutrition on average, and a reasonable activity schedule (both exercise and daily life stuff).

    To the bolded: I'd encourage you to share information here on the thread, where many can benefit, rather than keeping it private - that, even though I'm not quite on your same advice wavelength. I'm sure you wouldn't do this, but the "DM me for more information" approach can make people think of Beachbody coaches, other MLM sellers, and others with something to sell who post that way here so as not to run afoul of Community guidelines. Sharing publicly gives more people an opportunity to benefit, besides.

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