Wtf? Weight gain - I seem to be putting on 1-2lbs per month

[MrsHood]

I’ve put on about a stone since Jan. My diet hasn’t changed. Am early 40s, 5ft 6in and as per my scales this morning - now pushing 12st was 11st at Xmas.

My Diet is what I’d consider “average family cuisine” - think weetabix, toast, porridge or yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, dinner ranges from spag bol to salads, home made curry/chili con carne to roast veg, snacks are mainly fruit with the odd packet of crisps or choc bar. So whilst it’s not super healthy, its not at its super awful either. I don’t drink much (never at home, only socially so about once per month on average).

My sleep is a bit all over the place and i have a desk-based job so am quite sedentary and don’t find it easy to make time for exercise.

Is this just the curse of the famous middle-age spread? Is it 2 years of working from home, sitting down a lot with an “average diet” now just catching up on me?

It’s just going to keep on heading in this direction isn’t it, unless I make some fairly drastic changes…. Which is, ugh, what I find overwhelming and then beat myself up.

Send help and donuts

Yes walking and general well-being is big here too @Wateringthegarden. Your routine sounds impressive!

Totally agree re wfh @AhAgain In one sense I love it (introvert) but it doesn’t help with being active. When we lived in the uk I had to commute - so probably walked 60 mins per day, 15 mins either side of the station. And fast as I was always running late!!

Anyway, am just back from a stroll in a nice part of town. It’s a beautiful morning. 30 mins / 3km / 4000 steps. I may go for a swim this evening too.

Waiting for this coach to give me my “plan” - let’s see what that’s all about!

Thank you all for your encouragement and kindness!

You are making good progress! I’d drop the hot choc and alcohol for a month or two as those are such high cal things with low nutrition. Eat plenty of protein for breakfast and lunch and that will help keep you going. I found an outdoor exercise class I like which is sociable so I go to that a couple of times a week. Is anything like that near you?

@MrsHood I was the same as you! I had to be brutally honest with myself (which in itself was hard!) and analyse what I was eating etc with the realisation that I was eating the same as I had been 10 years previously but without the exercise of looking after small children, running whilst they did judo, coaching rugby and touch rugby, walking and running with dogs, doing massive shops, walking them to and from school and play dates etc etc. It really added up. Add in to that the natural slowing of metabolism once you hit 40 then again at 50 and its a shit storm!

I've had to acknowledge that whilst I would love to be the tall, willowy figure that social media likes to portray 53 year old women 'should' be, I am not willing to put in the physical and dietary effort required to achieve that so I need to learn to accept the way I look and try not to get any bigger.

This is going to sound mad but are you 44 by any chance?

at least 5 different people warned me that they suddenly put on a stone at around 44 and couldn’t shift it.

with this in mind I tried to lose weight before turning this age, but it still happened. Not exactly bang on the date but near enough!! I’m trying hard to lose it fast.

i have never had this weight around my middle before and for me it’s definitely hormone related. I will either have to cut down eating by a lot or take up strong exercise.

all the best to you

I don’t drink (alcohol) much tbh. I’ll have a few wines when we we see friends but that’s probably every 2-3 weeks. We rarely drink at home.

Deffo need to increase protein.

@Newgirls When we lived in Australia there was a wonderful bootcamp that was set in the botanical gardens in Sydney so we’d run round there and do press-ups at the opera house. Unfortunately nothing at all like that in my current country. I even tried to set one up but it didn’t really work out. In the winter it’s minus temps and still dark at 8am. Even most gyms / pools only open at 9am. It’s also a country designed for one working parent only (read: the man) so fine for SAHMs….

I’ve also realized I have framed myself as a victim. I’m “too busy, fat, tired, stressed, pale, freckly, spotty, disorganized, lacking confidence, not good enough wide/mother/daughter” which basically gives me an excuse to fall in to those descriptions and say to myself “see, told you so” and rinse and repeat.

Who knew that starting a thread like this could be so introspective!

I have found this thread helpful about ultra processed foods. Listened to the podcast and found it really useful.
www.mumsnet.com/talk/food_and_recipes/4600183-anyone-else-cutting-down-on-upfs

@MrsHood I've been called many other things before ...

Sounds like a business opportunity for someone sporty! Are you in Iceland?!

we all relate honestly - I’m peri meno now and I feel I’m always exercising and stretching due to aching muscles and still not slim. Though I do eat quite a lot of cake to be fair

@3luckystars a couple of years to go! God help me if this isn’t it and it’s still to come.

Middle age spread can do one!

I don't have any groundbreaking weight loss tips. But it breaks my heart just how many people properly hate themselves just for being a bit overweight!

Of course, I understand that being overweight has health implications. But your own worth as a human does not depend on that number on the scales. I heard a really powerful statement the other day along the lines of "you can't go from a decent, respectable, worthwhile member of society to a weak useless piece of shit, in the time it takes to eat a big plate of pasta".

I never lost weight from hating myself. I have now managed to maintain a reasonable weight (overweight, but not obese!) by believing that I deserved to be healthy, I deserved to spend time preparing food, I deserved to go on long walks.

Does HRT increase the potential for weight gain? I thought it was supposed to be great when people went on it?

Hormones drive weight gain in so many ways.

I put on weight with HRT, presumably due to the oestrogen not the progesterone (from my reading about it). I halved my oestrogen does which helped a bit.

When I went into peri-menopause I gained 1-2lbs for every period I missed - it was like the pre-period bloating/weight gain but unlike in a normal cycle it never swung back the other way to even out, as the period didn't come.

Unbelievable that the gynae said hormones don't drive weight gain. Was she definitely female?

@Solidarityisbetterthanchsrity
it has for me I’m afraid - nothing else has changed aside from the HRT and I gained 3 pounds in a month. I also feel really bloated.

@FallOutPloy
For me maintaining my weight has huge bonuses on my energy levels and ability to get through the day with vigour rather than dragging myself through it. Keeping slim also massively helps my mood and self confidence. No sugar carb treat for me is worth it to not be able to have confidence in my clothes. I also love my wardrobe and would hate to not be able to fit into my favourite jeans or skirt iyswim. It would be very expensive 😂

Presumably the weight gain from HRT is similar to when you go on the contraceptive pill and gain a couple of pounds, ie. it's the oestrogen. I think, but don't quote me!

Following, I am a similar age, and despite being more careful than ever about what I eat I am struggling to keep my weight steady nevermind lose the weight I have put on in the last couple of years.

I really need to shift some weight but nothing seems to work.

Good luck OP

Those saying avoid rice, pasta, etc, does it apply to brown/whole wheat??

I'm reading this with fear and dread. I'm mid 40s and I love carbs!! (As in potatoes, bread etc - telling me vegetables are carbs won't help!!🤣)
I did cut down carbs for 2 months about 4 years ago and I'm pretty sure I didn't lose a pound.

'fraid so @HikingforScenery - carb counts are still high

I'm on HRT and haven't noticed any gain from it. However prior to going on it I was grumpy, exhausted, couldn't sleep and putting on weight when I had been effortlessly slim (ie no exercise!) my whole life.
I literally detest sports and exercise classes, needing special kit, needing STUFF and have no self confidence so group activities were OUT.
SO I got a dog. DH didn't really want one so I knew all the work would be down to me...and now I'm back to eating what I want (my diets not bad at all barring too much wine but I was gaining fast) but I'm clocking up miles walking her.
I've also had a shot at some non group activities..now own a kayak and go when the weather is good. but really it's the dog.
Having a method where you HAVE to get out and move, no matter what is really really helpful.
Also I now have a companion who loves me more than life itself, meet loads of people to say hi to every day and have discovered the countryside...I cannot imagine only clocking in 3k steps a day now! To the extent I am doing courses and about to set up as a dog walker myself :)

You just need to find something that you can enjoy and that you have to commit to, dump the worst foods and find a balance.
(Dh loves the dog now..I knew he would )

I have lost 8kg since January, because my weight was going up and up. I'm in my
40s too.

In a nutshell you are eating more calories than you are burning off. It's fairy simple. To loose weight you need calorie deficit and to same the same you need calorie balance.

Log, honestly, what you eat over 2 weeks and you'll see you are eating more than 1800 calories a day. When I say honestly, you need to weigh your ride/ pasta/ jacket potatoes and log it correctly. It's probably your portion sizes, those little snacks you eat without thinking it.

A pizza out is 1200 calories. Sticky toffee pudding and custard 1000. Trust me it adds up

If you don't do anything much different from a decade ago, then the issue is possibly eating more when tired, creeping up portion size, snacking in the evening, or muscle wastage (which lowers metabolism). It won't be any food group.

Fairly not fairy!
Rice not ride!

I'm 51 and on HRT and had gained weight over the last year. A month ago I decided to kick it so started back on MyFitnessPal. And started regular exercise too. I'm about 10lb down now.

1 stone to go to get where I want to, but already seeing and feeling a difference.

Lots more energy now and the sweet and carb craving has completely gone 😊

You may want to get your thyroid checked.

It absolutely can be/is related to the balance of macronutrients you consume