Women In Their 40's Struggling With Their Weight Coming Off?

Everyone's diff, I guess. I'm 43, changed to low-fat, whole foods veganism in Sept and lost 15lbs right off the bat. I'm close to my goal weight now. And, all the health problems that plagued me (and resulted in my diet change) have corrected themselves. I also run, though, and did before the diet switch, but only for a year...still a newbie when I changed my eating.

bump for later read

Bump for l8r, on the road home from long weekend... 40 going on 41 this Sat. (Yikes!)

We can do this ladies!!

Hi. I'm 48 years and peri-menopausal. I would not personally go down the HRT route, but use natural progesterone cream. It has no side effects, doesn't cause weight gain, and because it's topical, doesn't mess with your liver etc.

I have lost weight by a combination of strength training, light cardio and eating a ratio of 40% carbs, 30% fats and 30% protein, making sure to have protein with each meal (approx 1 gram per pound lean bodyweight).

I am fitter and healthier than I have been in years. And if you're vegetarian you can get your protein with quorn and other veggie protein sources, or get some good quality protein supplements.

Good luck!

I'm 48 yrs old and going through peri-menopause as well. The weight is coming off, but sooooooooo slowly. I eat everything, but in moderation. I vary my calories somewhat(Zig-Zag?). MFP has me at 1480 calories, my BMR is 1501. Somedays I will be at 1480, sometimes 1600 etc. If I'm hungry, I will eat back my exercise calories. It seems to work for me. I lose about a pound a week.

If life wasn't hard enough. then the mid forties hit and everything goes out of whack.

My aunt started a low carb diet in her fifties. She's now 70 and has never been this svelte!

That said, I was put on medication that brought on the menopause and the weight gain I had was scary. I'm not talking about an "excuse", I was still registering what I ate and I was actually eating less (due to nausea), but I gained 5kg in a month. Woah.

I haven't read any of the other responses, but I'll give my 2 cents worth. I just turned 48, and recently have lost 42 pounds. I eat clean, and I mean clean. No processed anything. At the grocery store, I shop around the perimeter of the store and avoid the aisles, meaning fresh vegetables, meats....not a bunch of packaged crap. I still enjoy my food, but instead of unhealthy choices I choose healthy substitutes. There is a healthy sub for each unhealthy thing. Instead of butter, use chicken broth. I make my own from my weekly roasted chickens, for example. I spend more time in the kitchen, no time eating out. If you want to friend me, you can check out my diary. I love to cook, so this was a challenge at first, but I have had fun with it. I have found that this weight loss thing is 85% food, 15% exercise, but I still work out intensely and often. I have a new fit and toned body to show for it. Basically, expend more than you put in, make it healthy, and you WILL lose. I lost the majority of mine in the first three months, and then VERY slowly thereafter. Your body needs to know that it will not starve, so FEED it, but with health. If your current exercise regime is not working any longer, change it up, increase intensity or both.

Boy can I relate to this topic. I'm 48 and losing weight is a struggle for me now compared to even just 10 years ago. I had a hysterectomy 3 years ago putting me into menopause and wow, the weight just seemed to come out of nowhere. I realize that although my eating habits could use improvement, the real culprit was not moving my body. For me, healthy eating isn't enough, I must exercise to keep my metabolism up or even a low calorie diet doesn't work. Good luck and hang in there. Friend me if you like and I'll help offer encouragement as we all work on this new journey.

Hey there I'm 46 and yes it is a struggle! It has taken me 3 months to lose 20 lbs. I had a hysterectomy when I was about 35 yrs old. I didn't start really gaining weight until I married about 3 yrs ago, just happy and alot of good eating! LOL But 50 lbs in 3 yrs caught up with me quick! I still have a ways to go but I've just learned just to keep doing what I am doing and it will pay off in the end. I am very happy with the 20 lb loss but I'm still going for that other 30 lbs. I have adapted to my change in eating habits and found that eating bad food will make you sick after you've been eating healthy your body rejects it! I literally got sick from a cheat day that I had because my body was not use to it. So that said I have made this my lifestyle now and try not to really think of it as dieting anymore. I must say I do feel so much better! So to all the 40 yrs + ages Hang In There! It might take us a little longer then it use to in our younger ages but it will definetly pay off in the long run. Just keep doing what your doing! I went almost a month bf seeing a weight change which is very discouraging but then I weighed myself and it just fell off! seriously I got on the scale about 5 different times to make sure I was reading it right! lol Good luck to all! Don't give up

I have put on over 10 pounds of the 40 I lost. I hate that this happens to me but I know why. Now I need help! I need good lunch ideas please. I barely have 20 minutes to eat by the time I drop of my class to lunch. Any quick ideas?

It has been slow going for me too, and for the first 6 weeks or so of MFP I lost nothing. The only thing that worked for me was strength training, reducing workouts ( yes, your body needs rest days!) and eating more. Once I upped my calories to 2000 ( my TDEE is 2089) the scale started moving in the happy direction. Sounds good to me!


Im eating tons of healthy food, some treats and exercising about 4-5 days a week, mainly strength training and walking.

I have found weight loss/ fat loss Much more complicated post 40 but it is happening and I am leaning out now.

I don't know. Losing even five pounds was never easy for me, even when I was a teenager. I saw a nutritionist at 19 and lost six lbs. after she put me on a diet that added up to 500-700 calories per day. That said, the most I ever had to lose was 30 lbs. that I lost several years after baby four. There were some changes in my life that motivated me to get serious about exercise and eating less. Now I'm 50 and I have just a few pounds to lose, but it isn't happening. In my case I don't think it is age or hormonal...if I deep down wanted to lose those lbs. badly enough I would eat fewer calories or do cardio more often. But a few years ago endurance training messed with my body composition, I don't want to go there again, and I'm already only eating 1350 calories, so probably am stuck with my belly fat.

I'm 44 and had a total hysterectomy 6 weeks ago. I lost 100 pounds 12 years ago and pretty much put it all back on. It seems to be coming off so much slower now.. I'm not sure if it's because of the hormonal change, medications, just aging, or if I'm doing something different. But, I'm refusing to give up.
:happy:

I know exactly how you feel as I am 50 and what used to work for me didn't work anymore so I started gaining a few extra pounds here and there. What I did before was basically I had a bagel with butter for breakfast and a fried chicken ceasar salad or a turkey melt for lunch and then I would totally skip supper, I did this Tuesday through Friday. On Friday evening I would just eat everything in site and I love junk food. So I would basically gain 4 to 5 pounds every weekend but then I would lose it on the following week only to do it all over again. This worked fine for years but then once I hit 50 it stopped working for me. If someone told me eating more throughout the day was the answer I would never have believed them. My daughter convinced me to do this. I have to admit I only started out at 1000 calories a day because I was used to skipping meals (I did not eat my exercise cals back because I do very moderate exercise). I lost weight pretty fast and I was amazed because I could eat whatever I wanted in moderation. I just recently increased my calories to 1100 and lost another 1.2 pounds. What I am doing now is slowly increasing my calorie intake in order to be able to eat more and maintain what I have lost. I know 1100 is still low but I am not starving and this is what seems to be working for me. So in the next week or 2 I will increase my calorie intake another 100 a day and will keep doing this until I get to where I can just maintain my weight at a higher calorie intake. I have also been adding more fruit and I am trying to eat healther, I do not like very many veggies but I love fruit. I also drink around 3 16oz bottles of water a day. Hope this helps