Menopause weight gain

[wherestheweightlosspill]

Hi, I'm sure this has probably been asked hundreds of times but I'm really feeling down. I've gained about a stone in the last year, and I think 90% of it is on my tummy. I've been doing 5:2 for nearly 10 years but it just wasn't working. I do a youtube workout (20-30 mins) 6-7 times a week, eat pretty well and yet I look 5 months pregnant. I joined Team RH after Christmas and it literally isn't working at all, (and tbh I find their version of 'tough love' just rude and unhelpful, it's a bit like a cult, you're only allowed to say how great Team RH is and how shit everything else (My Fitness Pal, Slimming World etc) is. Given that most diets (Weightwatchers etc, Team RH etc) are all calorie counting, which appears not to be working for me, are there any other (maybe menopause specific) options?

I don't think you're in a calorie deficit. If you were, you would lose weight.

If you've been restricting what you eat for a long period, i.e. not just eating whatever you want, I suggest having a break for a couple of weeks and starting again.

Honestly @wherestheweightlosspill I don't profess to be an expert, I'm a member of a gym that specialises in body transformation (weight loss and building muscle). Every week we get an email about the myths around dieting and weight loss or hints and tips.There are many things which can impact weight loss but the impact is usually not what people perceive when they read them. Weight loss is down to consuming fewer calories than you use. If you build muscle, it will take more calories to fuel your body even when you're resting.

Your body has got used to a level of activity and probably calorie restriction and you'll probably benefit from taking a break for a couple of weeks. It's really normal to find even by increasing cardio exercise there's no change in weight. Most of it is down to diet. With strength training with weights you need to change things up regularly, lift heavier progressively over time, lift to the point you can't lift again. Your form needs to be good of you risk injury.

Unfortunately there are no quick fixes.

Thanks, I would say I was eating whatever I wanted for a few months up to Christmas then on 2nd Jan started Team RH and tracked everything and was definitely eating less than previously so really expected a loss, although I will say I thought the calorie target they set me (1844 calories a day) seemed high, but they kept saying 'trust the process' - I now longer trust the process (or them, the coaches are really not very nice) so giving that up and back on My Fitness Pal and an allowance of 1300 calories as of today so maybe that will do it. Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it

For info, I'm 5'4" and two and half stone overweight. I'll be in a healthy BMI once I've lost that. I don't actually look as bad as when I started 5 years ago as I've got more muscle though I'm definitely overweight! My starting calories on a three month programme are 1600 on training days, 1400 on non-training days and there will be two calorie cuts by 200 calories each during the programme. Once completed we do a reverse diet. It's not supposed to be long term and they won't let you do back to back programmes.

Because I was eating a load of crap on top of normal meals plus drinking quite a lot of wine, I've actually lost a couple of kilos already, but once we do the second calorie drop and add in an extra gym session that's when it really kicks in. There's an element of bulking up to build muscle effectively which is why it's not a massive calorie drop right from the beginning. Hopefully that's helpful.

googling bowflex plank!

Calorie counting has to come before exercise, because our bodies are SO annoyingly efficient about conserving energy. For me it was all carbs, mostly trying to recover from poor sleep - so maybe address any issues like sleep (insomnia, hot flushes etc. might be adressed by your HRT - it certainly was for me), then when you're getting a good 8 hours, start chipping away at the carbs.

The only thing that worked for me was Noom. When you sign up, after the free trial, keep on saying NO I WILL NOT SUBSCRIBE as you click through and eventually it lets you do it for less than half the original price.

Here you go

Plus an excellent little abs session with Caroline

9/10 it's due to diet but in my car I gained about 1.5 stones during late peri when I started HRT. Hated it. Had a good diet and lots of exercise so couldn't understand it.

Then I realised I was taking my HRT wrong (completely my own fault for not reading it properly). I was only taking half the progesterone I should have been. Within three months of taking it properly, the weight fell off me with no other changes at all.

My friend found that she gained 2 stone during peri but stabilised back at her normal weight around 3 years later when out the other side. I have another friend who can become very thin but always looks very bloated and we know it's stress and medication in her case (she suffers with clinical depression).

To me, that shows the impact hormones have, whether sex hormones like oestrogen and progesterone (and their balance) or stress hormones like cortisol.

I don't know if you're on HRT but it may be worth exploring or re-evaluating if you are, and definitely keep an eye on your stress levels.

Just throwing it out there too - what about food intolerances? Or potentially an internal mass such as an ovarian cyst or endometrium build up (sorry, don't want to worry you, but worth thinking about if your body fat is otherwise very low).

Hope you find a solution.

Interesting, thank you. I've often considered Noom, but didn't know anyone who'd used it. I'll happily try anything and thanks for the tip! Sleep is not a problem and I've been low carb for the last 3 weeks, no bread, pasta, chips/pizza (my weakness)

Thanks so much. I wouldn't say my body fat is very low but the excess weight has all ( and I mean 95% of it) landed on my tummy. I started HRT in Oct pretty much specifically in the hope it would halt this weight gain and it hasn't helped. I'm on a patch so not massively sure what's in it tbh but might be worth me talking to the GP, thank you xx

That's tomorrow morning's workout sorted! Thank you! I've done a few Caroline ones in the past.

I am 57, 5ft 5 and 8st 12. I was 11 1/2 stone a year ago. Like you it was mainly tummy. I just eat a lot less than I used to, one meal a day, lots and lots of veg, smoked haddock, pilchards, lentils. I don’t even look at bread. I feel much better and clothes look much better.

Wow!! Amazing, did you find that when you changed your diet it took a while to take effect? Because I have eaten mostly protein and fibre for the last 3 weeks (so lean chicken, yoghurt, salad, lentil/beans etc.) and it's quite a radical change to what I was eating, but it's just not having any impact at all, which just feels weird and illogical. I'm just hoping that maybe it will suddenly kick in, but if I'm honest that doesn't feel very likely :(

When you say you look pregnant- is there any chance it’s a food intolerance? I can get my tummy under control if I cut down on bread and cereals (but I love them so it doesn’t last for long!)

@wherestheweightlosspill To kickstart things I did the Fast800 for a couple of weeks and then switched to writing down everything I ate and drank in a notebook. I don’t calorie count or weigh things because by then I had an idea of portion sizes of protein (whether it was chicken, fish, chickpeas or cottage cheese) with veg I ate unlimited greens. I ate half a cauliflower (roasted in a little olive oil) most days and lots of mushrooms, very filling. On the odd day I feel I need something on top of my one meal in the evening I just scramble a couple of eggs in butter or boil an egg.

To answer your question yes it took immediate effect. You have to be 100% strict or you won’t lose weight. I spent about 5 years dieting but not strictly, and went up and down the same 7 lbs. Then I made up my mind to be super strict and it came off quickly after that.

I guess it’s possible though it’s never been the case before and my carb intake since new year has been tiny (including bread) but I guess it could be something else.

Interesting thank you. I weighed breakfast and tea today as they were at home but not lunch as I was at work but even if I’m 50% out on lunch I’m at 1250 calories today and 17k steps so if I carry on like this surely something has got to give!

Don't go too hard too soon would be my advice. I'm eating carbs in the form of oats with my Skyr for breakfast, rice cakes with lunch and I've had brown rice with dinner. I sometimes have a slice of seeded wholemeal toast at lunchtime. I'm eating lots of veg.

You don't have cut things out, just cut them back. Prioritise protein and food volume.

I did the 10 mins weighted abs this morning! Reckon I'll look like Caroline in a few days 😂

No pain, no gain.

However........ IME, after doing Caroline for a while, you may develop a perverse pleasure in the feeling of exhaustion......... can I get to the end of this? The sense of achievement and the emergence of visible abs can be quite exhilarating.

Kate Moss famously said that "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels". Though I definitely would not go that far, a good workout to start the day sets me up for a day of eating healthy, yet tasty, lovely food. Less risk of succumbing to the temptations of sugary or savory UPF of various kinds.

Even if I only have 10-15 minutes, I'll do the 3-minute plank, two dozen push-ups, 50 squats, 30 crunches and a 45-second hollow hold - and a few Russian twists and leg circles.

Every little helps!!

Wow! That doesn't sound like a little.... I've been doing a 20-30 min youtube video first thing in the morning for about 18 months now but not seeing significant results, but I think I may need to up the difficulty level.

More protein helped me lessen the tummy - as did minimizing booze as it doesn't agree with me anymore. I feel fuller and less inclined to mainline carbs.

I know I don't move as much as I used to but haven't but my calories to compensate.

Try following Zoe. Life changing. I now have a flat tummy! Drop UPFs and simple carbs

I_

I think a flat tummy is probably asking too much but less round would be great! Thank you xx

What's team RH?

I put on half a stone last year and couldn't shift it - also had my last period (so far) last Feb. I have started the Human Being Diet and have lost 3kg with that so far. I'm also just doing pilates and Caroline Girvan plus 15000 steps a day (dog walk, so not intentional).

I can't work out whether it is what it says it is - an ideal way of eating for a (peri) menopausal woman that balances out insulin peaks, cortisol and hormonal stuff as well as dealing with IBS (which it has for me) or is just a drastic diet. In any case, it's worked for me whereas none of my self-designed diets last year did. The first stages are very low calorie, lots of water, sleep and no cardio exercise, no snacks and 3 meals a day. Lots of mid-life women seem evangelical about it.