Anybody else hit their mid 40s & suddenly balloon up in weight?

[lirror]

In the last two years I've put on 2.5 stone, I've been a size 8/10 all my life & now I'm a 14/16. I absolutely hate it. All my life I've been a skinny mini who could eat anything. It seems like I'm going to have to shift to eating lettuce only at this rate. I have a classic round 'apple' belly that now sticks out further than my boobs and people give up their seats for me on tubes & buses because they assume I'm pregnant. I've even got rolls of back fat I know I'm definitely in the perimeno because I sometimes have hot flushes. I'm feeling really down about it, it's really restricting my ability to do things & it's causing back ache too. Has anyone else had this & managed to turn it around? I want my old figure back. I look dreadful.

Yes (to the putting it on, not turning it around).
I suspect it is an aging / menopause thing.
Not helped in my case by starting a much more sedentary job, but I think it is normal to start storing fat once you get older.

I am the opposite. Mid 40’s size 8-10 and have lost a stone. Not really dieting but have stopped eating bread, pasta etc and eat more veg to compensate. Sorry!

Me! I'm a fat fucker and my face looks like a potato. I haven't even really put on much weight, but size 14 is no longer curvy on me, im lumpy. Coupled with shit skin, crispy hair and a dodgy bladder, im a real delight.

Me I was a 12 about 5 years ago now I'm more 14-16 without over eating I think.
I'm being tested for an under active thyroid as have other symptoms too such as trapped wind and stomach acid etc
I'm 46

All my life I've been a skinny mini who could eat anything.

^You must have known it would catch up with you one day.

Metabolism slows down. Need to reduce calories/portion sizes 😞

I put on 4 stone in my mid 40’s. Been on HRT for 6 months and I feel like myself again. I have lost 1.5 stones so far.

Yeah, get you. I'm 46 and put on weight if I eat over 600 cals a day.

I also now bloat like mad if I touch wheat and get an upset stomach if I eat dairy. I had a severe eating disorder throughout my teens and twenties though so I guess it's payback time; my body is just rejecting every type of food.

Yep! Gone from Size 12, 5 years ago to size 16, and it’s a big effort to keep that “small”. I’m just 48.

Get your thyroid checked
And consider HRT

The GPs are fed up of women of this age asking for their thyroid to be checked. I know there’s nothing wrong with mine, it’s just middle age spread and a refusal to accept that I no longer need the calories. It sure who the round thing in the mirror is. But I’m pleased to have found this thread. Now, where did I put my willpower?

Also suffering from the wheat bloat thing. I’ve has to stop eating bread. No associated weight loss though.

Yes. I'm now apple shaped and can't eat as much as i used to. I run about 15k a week which has stopped me putting on any more weight but struggle to lose.

Yes same here - hate it but for some reason can't be bothered to deal with it!

Yes, had a total hysterectomy at 40, hrt fine for 3 years, but over the last 2 years I have been tired and eaten so much, gone up 3 dress sizes! Dr tested lots of things and thinks it was a combination of the Citroplan meds I was on for anxiety and my hrt dosage too low. I have come off Citroplan and doubled hrt. I feel so much better and have lost nearly a stone in 3 weeks without really trying, just don't feel that hungry and gone off alcohol!

Yes but mid 30's need to take action before I hit 40.

I'm 41 and I know that the second I hit 40, my waist disappeared. I've always had a big bum but I used to have a teeny tiny waist and a proper hourglass figure.
Now I resemble a badly stuffed sack of wool.
I would like to lose 2 stone but suspect it will come off my face. I'm not wildly vain but would prefer no waist and no wrinkles to a trim figure and a face like Iggy Pop.

I've delurked to say ME TOO!! I was hoping this extra stone and disappearance of my waist since I hit 41 a few months ago was it, and I would somehow do something about it, but you all have depressed me with your 4stone/ several dress sizes etc. It's just going to get worse isn't it?

Me. I'm 45 and I'm growing. I haven't got the mental strength to sort it so accept I'll never be a 10/12 again. It's beyond me.

Me too. From curvy to frumpy with belly and back fat to match.

I desperately need to downsize my meal portions and stop eating sugar laden food.

I'm 41 and I've gone from 8/10 to 12/14 eating too much and can't get away with it like I used to. Also two LOs demanding job and commute mean I have no time to exercise or that's what I tell myself I'm sure I could make time if I was superwoman which I'm not

Two meals a day?

I've been dreading this so at 41, I now exercise more than ever (long gym sessions, 4-5 times a week) and don't eat many carbs. I'm now fitter and slimmer than I've ever been so most be doing something right!