Menopause Information!

tbonach wrote: »

I came on here looking to see if anyone had any pointers - but it seems we're all asking the same questions. So, I will share what I've learned from my doctors (including a female-hormone specialist who practices acupuncture) and some books I've read. (The Hormone Cure by Dr. Sara Gottfried and Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Dr. Christiane Northrup)

Firstly, we lose estrogen as we come to the end of our menstruating days. BUT, estrogen is stored in adipose tissue (the bad fat) and even while we are losing it, we are also losing progesterone, causing us to still be estrogen dominant. The adipose tissue is a vicious circle, so yeah, it's harder to lose weight, but not impossible.

We have to try to cut out red meats, and stick to chicken and fish (preferably fish) to get our protein (or for you vegetarians, beans). We also have to cut out processed breads: tortillas, buns, english muffins, BUT continue to have multi-grain breads that are not overly processes as this helps support our estrogen depletion.

Caffeine, wine, and alcohol will wreak havoc with our hormones, so keep it all in moderation.

Finally, to put it in perspective, I was an Ironman triathlete and trim and in my "perfect" body at 145lbs at 5'4". I am now 179. Ugh. I'm sure "part" of this is hormones. The other part is I had foot surgery and can't run anymore, and it super screwed up my routine. So my advice is to stay as healthy as you can and keep exercising, because this last year has sucked for me. Finally have a PT helping me literally get back on my feet as I couldn't even walk without pain for months.

Hang in there ladies, I hear that we'll be our svelte selves again in our 60's

Hmm, I dunno. I'm 68, and not asking those same questions, I guess?

I'm also not a big believer in special tactics for menopause. (I've been in menopause for 23+ years, brought on early - in my mid 40s - by chemotherapy. Then I took estrogen agonist/antagonist drugs for 7.5 years after that, which in some ways creates a hyper-menopausal situation by blocking reception of estrogens, or blocking creation of estrogen in other tissues like bodyfat/adrenals. I was also diagnosed as severely hypothyroid right after cancer treatment, if that matters - I think it doesn't .)

As a vegetarian for almost 50 years now, I got fat then obese while not eating red meat, chicken or fish, then got thin the same way. Vegetarians can eat beans, and they're good for us, but there's more to it than that, of course.

At age 59-60, I lost from class 1 obese (just a few pounds heavier than you are now, coincidentally) to a healthy weight, and have been at a healthy weight for 7+ years since. I'm at a bodyweight I was in my 20s before the whole "getting fat" thing really got rolling for me, and approximately the same body measurements. Last I checked (recently ), I fit in the clothes from my wedding at age 22. Is that "svelte"? I don't know. I weighed 133-point-something this morning, at 5'5".

The funny thing is I still eat some "processed breads", drink coffee daily, and drink wine and other alcoholic beverages socially within reason. I admit I've never been a triathlete, but I've been a short-endurance athlete for 20+ years now (on-water and machine rower), and not always an unsuccessful one in age group competition.

Personally, I feel like it's more important and effective to focus on which foods to get into my eating, rather than which foods to kick out. (Things to get in would be adequate protein, healthy fats, and plenty of varied, colorful veggies and fruits, IMO. Once that's in place, I haven't found that some white bread, chocolate, wine or the like - within reason - is a deal breaker.)

I'm very sorry that you've been dealing with the after-effects of surgery, including limitations on exercise. I know how hard that is, having had multiple surgeries/injuries even during the weight-maintenance phase of the last 8 years. (Nothing diet-related, I hasten to say, though a couple of them before weight loss were probably obesity-related.)

I have had quite a number of athlete friends and acquaintances who gained weight when exercise was dramatically reduced (by surgery, injury, choice, or life demands), because they were used to eating to fuel that higher exercise load. In a situation where a mere 100 calorie excess per day would be expected to add 10 pounds in a year, it's pretty easy for weight to drift upward pretty quickly after exercise is reduced. IME, calorie counting can help manage that situation.

There's a lot of information circulating about menopause lately, including some amping up the facts as clickbait. (To be clear, I'm not at all accusing you of doing that. It's just that it's all over the place on the internet now. My fear is that that noise makes women feel menopause is a much bigger barrier than it perhaps really needs to be.)

BTW, "adipose tissue" is just body fat, bad when we have too much (or too little!) of it. I'm wondering if you might have meant visceral fat, the stuff mostly inside our body cavity around our internal organs? That type of fat is usually regarded as inherently a bad thing. (It is associated with metabolic syndrome.) IMU trans fats are a dietary contributor to visceral fat.

Bottom line, I don't like to overcomplicate things. Well-rounded nutrition is important for health. Appropriate calories lead to appropriate body weight. Exercise - strength and cardiovascular - is good for a body in diverse ways.

Maybe menopause makes it harder, but everyone has their own hard, it seems like. The only reason to think about obstacles (IMO) is to plan how to get over, around, through or otherwise past them. Catastrophizing about them, especially about any immoveable ones, is a waste of time and energy. I hope your post may help some folks.

Best wishes, sincerely.

SafariGalNYC wrote: »

There are women here who lost a ton of weight while in menopause and maintain a high level of fitness and activity. I choose to look to them as inspiration rather than all the reasons people give to why weight loss is “hard” or over complicated.

I’d love to see the science on caffeine, red meat, etc and its influence on hormones peer reviewed by an endocrinologist.

I do think it’s all connected holistically, but there are plenty of red meat eating, caffeine drinking, red wine aficionado 55yr old fit and thriving ladies out there who do not have problems with their hormones nor keeping their weight down.

If you believe you are struggling with hormones, I would see an endocrinologist. The doctor/authors you mentioned are not hormone specialists.

I’d be careful with those authors actually….

Christiane Northup used tarot cards in her diagnoses and also believes she is reincarnated from Atlantis.

She also believes women with thyroid disorders “develop because of an energy blockage in the throat region, the result of a lifetime of 'swallowing' words one is aching to say."

I would not trust this woman with the hormones of my goldfish, nevermind give a woman advice on menopause.
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But OP- I do hope you find your path back to health and a feeling of robustness again real soon!

Yikes. Thank you for mentioning that.

Speaking as a woman with a thyroid disorder . . . I'm quite certain that no one who actually knows me would say that I "swallow words I am aching to say".

I have many, many flaws and character faults. Swallowing my thoughts is definitely not one of them. Probably more the reverse.