Gaining weight all of a sudden???

I'm not really a believer that it's menopause per se. (I'm F, 68, went into menopause at 45 (induced by chemotherapy), lost from obese to healthy weight at 59-60 . . . severely hypothyroid, too, though properly medicated for it. I've been at a healthy weight since, and I'm for sure no magical unicorn. )

I don't know about you, but my lifestyle gradually got less and less physical as I was getting older - I'm talking daily life stuff, not exercise. In my 20s, my job was more physical, my hobbies and social life had more inherent movement, I was working on creating a nice home, transportation involved walking (e.g., to the public transit stop) or biking, some folks have toddlers to chase, etc. As I aged, job was more sedentary, social life was more theaters and dinner parties, I was enjoying the home my younger DIY-er had created, hire out more physical work than I did when young/poorer,

On top of that, being less active leads to subtle fitness decreases, so we may find it less easy or fun to move, thus do even less of it, creating a negative down-spiral

A lot of women in my demographic have made that situation even worse by many cycles of yo-yo weight loss and regain. The common pattern in the past was extreme low calorie diets with punitively intense cardio regimens, eating mostly salads/veggies. Fast loss, not enough protein, no strength exercise? Lose more than minimum muscle tissue alongside fat loss. Then the regain pattern would be a lot of rich or treat foods (high fat, carbs, still not enough protein), and no exercise. Regain is almost entirely fat weight. Repeat that, and body composition gradually worsens: At any given body weight, more fat, less lean tissue. If that happens, it can reinforce the "move less" inclination, and the fitness decline. (Muscle also burns a tiny amount of calories more at rest than the same weight of fat, but that's a small factor.)

The good news is that all of that is reversible: Eat the right number of calories, get enough protein, include strength exercise during and after loss, consciously increase daily life movement.

There's a thread about that last thing here, where many MFP-ers share their ideas:

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

Not all of those ideas will suit everyone, but there may be some that will work.

Personally, I'm not a fan of focusing on things that are unchangeable. Possibly menopause has some complicating aspects for weight management, but I can't decide not to be menopausal. (Some women can take HRT. I absolutely can't, because of a history of estrogen-fed advanced-stage breast cancer.) I think the only point in thinking about obstacles is to plan how to get over, under, around, or otherwise past them. Anything more is a waste of time and energy. I can control my eating, and my activity level (exercise and daily life) pretty much 100%. Therefore, that's my focus for change.

Wishing you success: The results are worth it IME!