to ask if you have managed to get rid of perimenopausal belly fat and bloat and how you have done it?

[SoManyQuestions219]

Am 46 and am noticing bloating and a thickening waist .

Just wondering what you have done to combat these symptoms!! Is it possible to be this age and have a youthful figure? Have about half a stone of general weight to lose but my belly has freaked me out!

Thank you!

I can see what you are saying birds l can also see you are very knowledgeable and informed on the subject. :)
You are correct, l am 'only' 43 so perhaps l'll need a modification in years to come?
l've always been careful with myself, so hope to continue. I didn't take in to consideration, woman that are dealing with more pressing health issues.
I'm very nervous of starting the menopause...

I agree with Birds. When I was 43, I could still eat what I liked, when I liked and not put on weight. Now I'm 50, this simply isn't the case any more, but I'm not willing to spend the rest of my life looking like a well-lagged water tank.

Why do the fanatics always turn up on these threads?

what criteria does one have to meet in order for you to consider them a fanatic Ballet?

presumably people are just sharing their experience of what works for them, how does that do more harm than good?

I see no fanatics.
I just see lots of people choosing to stay fit and healthy past 50.

Ballet, I'm a bit confused, I don't see why anyone is being called a fanatic. Everybody eats differently. I find it helpful to get suggestions. I am 39 but worried because of my cousin's experience so I was interested to hear views. I certainly can't see anyone fanatical here, in fact, I was looking back over the posts wondering who you meant!

It is interesting to think about what it was like in the past. I have a friend who is 55 and who does some type of workout daily (hard days and easy days). She was saying when she was in her 20s, it was not expected that a woman of 55 would work out regularly.

^ to clarify, I don't mean "expected" as in "societal expectation" - I meant that it would be considered unexpected and surprising for a 55 year old woman to be doing that.

When my grandmother was 50 she already looked like an old lady.
She then reinvented herself and was fit and active till she was 90.

When my mother was 50 she looked and dressed like a granny - even though she wasn't one.

When I turned 50 I swam a mile and did yoga and then wore 30 year old clothes to my party.

Women are aging much more slowly now - and its a good thing.

I suspect that a fanatic is actually anyone who has more self discipline than the person making the 'fanatic' accusation

TalkinPeace, do you mean she looked a lot older than 50? I find it hard to tell because my mum has a baby face, bless her.

I am not sure what I think of as dressing like a granny....ponders I do think it's pretty much impossible to tell how old anyone is these days which may well be a sign that people are ageing more slowly.

butterfly
If you look back to the 60's and 70's, older women wore older women clothes.
The idea of a 50 year old wearing jeans or a bikini back then was pretty much unthinkable.

Spanx or the equivalent is the answer for me they keep the wobbly bits in place and give you back a bit of definition.

TalkinPeace - I guess so.

Crustsaway - aren't Spanx really hot and uncomfortable to wear?

It is not fanatic to care enough about your children and yourself to eat normal healthy foods. It's not our faults if most women are over weight and stuff themselves with junk. You can lose weight at any age if you eat less than you expend.

Yes they are and push all the jelly further up.

Marilyn Monroe would have still worn bikinis into the 1970s if she had lived that long (wistful).

Jane Fonda's workout videos are 33 yrs old now, she was 44 when she made them. That was the model of a 40-50yo woman that I grew up with.

lljkk
But Jane fonda was regarded as an utter freak when they first came out : middle aged women wanting to do sweaty exercise was not mainstream.

Now at my gym there are hundreds of us in our 50's and 60's and 70's doing all sorts including BodyAttack

MM's weight went between 8 and 10.5 stone. She is not the massive fatty overweight women like to assume.

Advice for so - try eating only good whole foods, lots of good fats, medium protein, loads of veg, carb just from your veg., only drink water. Exercise every day but it can be 20 minutes of something like HITT or whatever it's called - basically getting out of breath - run for the bus and carrying heaving things - shopping a mile from the bus or two toddlers or weights. IF is good for health too so try long breaks between eating or no breakfast.

My mom was one of those freaks, so were many of her friends. Jogging (she did a half-marathon), long distance cycling (50+ mile rides), annual skiing, tennis (tournaments), softball, aerobics, swimming, yoga... (She stayed pudgey through all that, mind!) There was a huge sudden home fitness rage in the early 80s. Richard Simmons sparked a lot of it, from the late 1970s onwards.

Pretty sure my grandmother was still coaching basketball until at least her mid 40s (the 1940s).

I'm 54 and I suppose I must have gone through the menopause during the last couple of years - I was 51 when the GPs realised I shouldn't still be on the pill. Apart from not having periods ( but I never had them often anyway because of pcos) and a very occasional night sweat but only if the heating was set too high I've really not noticed much change. Except for being leaner and fitter - nothing to do with menopause I started regular exercise ( shred type things) and 5:2 a couple of years ago.

Maybe I've just been lucky or maybe I made my own luck by starting those things coincidentally at the right time.

We are not all created equal and doctors are only just realising this.

I have been to see several weight management doctors over the last six years (Harley St, 52 Alderley Edge, Esher) all said that each person processes nutrients differently and will have a different reaction to outside and internal stimuli (such as hormones, pesticides, alcohol etc). I recently had my resting metabolic rate measured at 1100. The lady before me had hers measured at 900. We were both of normal weight (24 BMI) and just under 50 years old. Can you now see why recommending a reducing diet of 1200 calories for people such as us won't make much difference unless we start marathon training (which is great if you have the time)? This is why VLC diets are so successful for middle aged people but unfortunately, they are unsustainable. My previously fit and slim middle aged sister is suddenly gaining a belly tyre at 55 and is horrified that her 'eat less/move more' attitude is suddenly not working.

This is why telling people to eat less and move more doesn't work. This is why some people can go on the pill/HRT and have no side effects while others pile on the pounds or have heart attacks. This is why some people go on SSRIs and pile weight on while others don't and some feel suicidal and some don't. This is why some people can eat cake and do nothing but remain thin while others balloon.

Oh, and the doctors I saw said that 5:2 intermittent fasting was the worst thing for people like me with low BMR as it puts the body into 'emergency conserve' mode when it comes to energy expenditure.

They all recommended 5 or 6 small meals a day and by a meal, I mean an egg or a 0% fat yoghurt with no sugar.

By all means listen to what strangers on a message board have to say but if you want help with your diet and health, go and see a medical professional.

frosty if your doctors still belive the myth of starvation mode and have not kept up to date with the research on fasting and insulin they really should stop playing golf and get up to date.
Even the BHF and Diabetes Uk have stopped advocating lots of little meals.

I turned fifty two weeks ago. It has taken me almost 14 months to lose 40 lbs. I finally turned to a personal trainer to help me fine tune my fitness regime. I am at the gym at least 4 times a week, 45 minutes of cardio. Two times a week, I do intense strength training. I drink tonnes of water and eat three small meals a day. My stomach was like a water balloon before I changed my eating and exercising patterns. It is much smaller now but still a work in progress. MyFitnessPal has been a great friend to me.

My heart goes to everyone trying to figure out how to deal with this midlife weight related crap.

Frosty believe what you like but just about everyone unless they are ill who eat less loses weight whatever their weight and age and stage. If you don't want to believe that that's fine too. Also people a stone over weight tend not to have big health issues but might not look so good in their bikini so it's entirely personal choice at the end of the day.

(And I am not one of those at the gym all the time because I don't have time. Sometimes do a 20 minute HIT work out or occasionally bikram yoga which makes me feel very good indeed but takes up more time. I also lift a lot of heavy boxes at home/work and jump up and down off ladders and all the usual domestic stuff which is just as good at keeping people fit as is running upstairs and cycling as any formal training.)

Yes the Frosty doctor is ignoring latest research.