To be horrified at my menopausal weight gain?

Yes. It’s a very distinct type of gain very different to just gaining weight through overeating. I’ve had a young pt tell me it’s a myth and bemused I couldn’t shift weight on her cals and exercise plan. It’s like a slab on your front. I have no waist.
It’s definitely far more complex than cals in and out.

The fat cells in the stomach produce teeny amounts of estrogen. When the ovaries start to pack in the body goes looking for it. That's why we get a belly and your body will cling onto that belly for grim death.

It's not impossible to get rid of it but it'll take some graft. I'm hoping hrt helps.

@KnottedTwine ! I got told that by an expert menopause health expert. Just sayin’

@Lentilweaver yeah you don’t drink….. I drink like a fish still so need to balance it up. The one meal is easy if you are busy and I eat fruit in the day. Also I don’t have to cook the one meal, that helps!

@UtterlyButterly2048 what is a macro ?

Can I offer a bit of hope?

I’ve just turned 50, I’ve been peri-menopausal since I was 45. Had lots of shitty symptoms so have been on HRT for 3 years now which has been helped enormously.

My weight was steadily climbing too - maybe due to hormones but also due to being in a very stressful job and eating for comfort. Four months ago I decided I had to make changes. I basically stopped eating my emotions (eating when sad, bored, stressed, tired, frustrated) and have now lost 17 pounds. It’s the first time I’ve lost a significant amount of weight in over 10 years. My BMI has gone from overweight to normal.

i haven’t followed any particular diet, I don’t restrict when I eat, no foods are forbidden and I don’t do any exercise other than walking (I know I need to work on that 😄). I stick to unprocessed foods as much as possible, lots and lots of vegetables, lean protein. I still eat bread, pasta etc just in smaller quantities than before. And the odd bit of chocolate!

Wow I don't think I could manage only one meal a day @sausagesforteaagain and neither do I want being slim to be my total focus. There is so much more to life!
However I do eat much less than I did in my twenties and thirties, much less carbs, don't drink, and exercise way more.

A third less calories? How much energy do you think having periods takes????

Surely this coz once your periods stop then you need a third less calories. So if you eat the same and exercise the same you are still going to lose weight.

I still have a waist and have only added a couple inches. Am 50

I skip and row everyday I can. Otherwise walk a lot. Do 10mins weights.

eat one meal a day, cut out bread, don’t have a sweet tooth so no chocs or cake but I do drink a lot.

I think in order stay slim it’s like your total focus !

This whole menopausal weight gain needs to be studied as it definitely isnt as simple as calories in calories out.

But given most GPs dont even know about HRT.....

Oh yes. Plonked on 10lbs round my middle and it stuck to me like shit to a blanket. I’ve always been fairly slim but none of my usual ways to lose weight had any effect.

However, it is shifting now. I got a Macro check from a Fb group Macros Inc. It’s free, (they always say on there that peri doesn’t cause weight gain, which I think is crap, but whatever) get the free check and eat within your macros.

And I changed my exercise routine from primarily cardio (running/step/aerobics) to primarily strength training. I follow Sydney Cummings on YouTube and again it’s free. Work outs range from 30-45 mins and are 5 days a week, so quite manageable.

Whilst this shouldn’t actually work (I am definitely burning less calories now than I did before and eating more!) it’s the only thing that has worked. After struggling with it for a year, I made these changes and lost 6lbs in 4 weeks, even with 2 weekends away where I ate and drank whatever I wanted. Am aiming to lose another 10 and reckon I can actually do it. Worth a try?

You need to raise this with the GP. It can be due to ovarian issues (cysts, tumours, cancer) esp if it happened over a rather short space of time. Don't brush it under the the carpet! Adding a stone in a few weeks is probably not simply menopausal stuff.

My GP- male, size of a butcher's pencil- dismissively told me it's nothing to do with menopause, it's just because women slow down as they get elder. WHICH IS UTTER BLLSHT.
I was a size 8 all my life, - then the triple whammy of menopause, steroids and disability meant I went up to a size 20. I was so unbelievably miserable and just couldn't shift. I'm now on Mounjaro since May and Im finally approaching a normal BMI. And my fatty liver has practically disappeared.
Still had to access it privately as my GP was no use whatsoever.

Oh I hear you OP. I am 46 and have put on so much weight in the last few years, especially around the middle.

I always had a fast metabolism when I was younger and shifted weight so easily - I could always eat whatever I wanted!

I did speak to the GP about it at my last HRT review and she said it’s just what happens at peri menopause.

Depressing though, as my self esteem is very caught up in being slim.

Plus as others have said I do come under a lot of stress and cortisol makes you put on belly weight.

If you’re pear shaped, did you have those big tree trunky legs? Only it could be that your fat disposition has changed with the hormones

I am struggling with this too, even more so as I have a history of anorexia so am still hyper aware of my weight and hate the fat roll round my belly. Makes me feel really low.
Have gained about 5 kg over the past year, from an 8-10 to a size 12 and now none of my clothes fit me. BMI is 23 ish so wouldn't be able to get injections.
I agree its cortisol and its affects. I gather eating more protein can help with this but am also feeling a bit lost.
Very hard to know what to wear with slim arms and legs and a jelly belly.
Sympathies to you all

Me too - I feel completely blindsided. I'm 42, had 3 kids and although I never got fully back to my pre-pregnancy weight (so gained a little each time), I was always a 10 (top) and 12 (bottom). In the last 18 months or so I've put on about 10kgs. Had to replace almost my entire wardrobe to a size 14 and am now wondering if I am going to have to replace it again to a 16. It feels completely out of control and all the things I used to do to cut a bit of weight don't touch the sides anymore. For the first time in my life my BMI comes back as "overweight." I feel totally miserable about it - I look awful and I miss my clothes!

I don't think HRT makes the weight gain worse, it's just that we start taking it at a time when we are destined to struggle with weight gain anyway. I was hoping it would help but I must say it has neither helped nor hindered weight wise so far.

Reassuring to be able to link the weight gain to a phase of increased eating tbh. When you speak to your GP about HRT they will rule out anything else.

Oh and I believe the weight gain comes from adrenal glands and elevated cortisol levels.

Stress puddles weight gain around our middle.
I'm trying to shift a stone at the moment too🙄so tedious.

I have a couple of friends that haven't gained a pound.
The eat SO LITTLE.
A side plate meal with zero carbs, mostly lean protein and green veg.
They only drink gin with diet tonic, no wine.
No sweets, sugar, WHATSOEVER.
They fast 18 hours a day.
They look good, but it is very very restrictive.
For them it is worth it.

@Surf2Live re the coffee, try mushroom coffee.
The OYL mushroom coffee brand.
My menopausal friend switched to it because her colleague was raving about it in her office.
Great coffee substitute, tastes similar and really lifted the fog that some women feel.
I bought it for my husband who was feeling morning fog.
He likes it and his office coffee is a superb Italian blend that they import directly. I thought it was tasty too.

Might be worth a try.

Isnt Mounjaro only for BMI above 30? My BMI is just touching 24. Diabetes runs in my family too but I dont think I qualify.

I could have written this post. NOTHING worked - all my old tricks for losing weight just didn’t work. I’ve been ion Mounjaro since August and have lost 10kgs. My belly fat is reducing and I feel (and look) like me again.

I put on 10kgs in a year… it’s miserable. If you can afford Mounjaro I thoroughly recommend it.

My diet literally cannot get any healthier. I have been eating Tim Spector style all my lifeal even before he even appeared on the scene. But has hsd no effect on my belly. Partly genetic. My mum is a size 8 with a prominent tummy. We are Asian and this is how we carry our weight.

Trying to up my exercise now.

Op (and others with rapid gain especially around the abdomen) please speak with your doctor just to check that nothing more sinister is happening.