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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

131 replies

SoManyQuestions219 · 21/05/2015 17:16

Am 46 and am noticing bloating and a thickening waist Sad.

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!

OP posts:
TheRealMaryMillington · 25/05/2015 16:10

I think the horrible truth is that the peri mantra needs to be move (a lot more) eat (a lot) less.

Little dietary tweaks are getting me nowhere. But hearteningly even upping the exercise by a little is showing good results in general tone and shape, even if the flabby belly still remains).

crispandfruity · 25/05/2015 16:25

Since turning 40 I've made the effort to exercise regularly. I'm now in the process of reassessing my diet - bye bye carbs.

For me it's not just about the weight, it's about retaining my energy levels and stamina. I remember my mum at my current age always being ill/tired, being diagnosed with high blood pressure etc... I'm not saying my attempts at a healthy lifestyle will prevent things, but it gives a better starting point.

Still got a jelly belly though!!

butterfly133 · 25/05/2015 16:32

Frostycake - I agree that there's going to turn out to be a lot people don't know. It's one reason I'm trying to gather info well in advance of the menopause, though it does strike I'm worrying too early...!

suzannecanthecan · 25/05/2015 16:33

the effects of a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet accumulate over time so that the processes of degeneration accelerate as you age.

yes we are all different, some are lucky and naturally more resilient than others but for each person the later you leave it the more of an uphill struggle it will be.

butterfly133 · 25/05/2015 17:40

suzannecanthecan - I nearly said "canthecancan!" - I don't think anyone's disputing that.

I think what's being questioned is what can be done when very active, healthy people suddenly see their 20 years + hard work vanish due to hormonal disruption. I had the same experience with SSRIs but I didn't want to derail the thread with that story. I know a couple of menopausal women at work who gained weight so fast they didn't know what hit them. The idea that it takes ages to creep on is so not true in some cases, especially anything relative to hormones.

suzannecanthecan · 25/05/2015 17:46

ok, well I can only speak for myself, I am post menopause and so far have not found staying lean to be a problem.

When you say 'very active, healthy people' can you be more specific, were they people who struggled with staying slim when younger?

TalkinPeace · 25/05/2015 17:47

suzanne
Your posts make me laugh as I remember your earlier names and the gradual turnaround in your mood as you've changed your outlook Smile

suzannecanthecan · 25/05/2015 17:55

well I'm happy to hear that I'm keeping you amused Talkinpeace :o

ErrolTheDragon · 25/05/2015 17:58

Frosty, I've got a very low bmr too, which is why trying to just not eat much every day doesn't work well for me. 5:2 lets me eat normal healthy meals 5 days a week - today being a 'fast' day I'm about to have a bowl of Dahl with veg. If what you're doing works well for you as a long term way of eating then great - but please accept that some of us wouldn't find that sustainable but 5:2 is. Like you say, we're all different. And I'd encourage everyone to keep abreast of the scientific literature - don't just take advice from Internet randoms!

butterfly133 · 25/05/2015 18:15

suzannecanthecan - yes, earlier in the thread I spoke about my cousin whose body has gone haywire. She was a healthy eater and active and slim all her life. Menopause has hit her like a truck. My aunt (her mum) was the same and died still moaning about her weight (okay, not literally but you know what I mean). When I was little she was almost underweight but menopause took that away.

I also have a friend who is fretting - she's the same age as me, but her older sister seems to be in peri (we think) - and she's gone from a ballet dancer's body - she's a dance teacher and choreographer - to a very very different shape, she's gained a stone around her tum. She hasn't eaten sugar or carbs for years for about 20 years so can't make any changes there. She could cut out dairy but honestly she's the sort of person who eats so little, you wonder how she stays healthy.

She's trying to be okay with it but it's not easy. People have even asked if she's ill! Nightmare. I don't know what you are supposed to adjust when you eat so carefully in the first place.

I should add, at school and uni I troughed shocking amounts of food and stayed underweight for a long time. It didn't change till I was about 25. I'm a huge believer that something else is at play that scientists don't know about.

Floppityflop · 25/05/2015 18:23

i am sure hormones make a difference to distribution of weight. I always used to have a slim tum but I've noticed a thickening of late that has coincided with rocky cycle. I'm only 37 though and really hope it's not early meno - I still don't have DC!

vpillow · 25/05/2015 18:28

Watching and reading with interest. I am going for a beach holiday soon and want to wear a bikini - but need to lose the apple silhouette first!

SecretSquirrels · 25/05/2015 18:33

I wonder whether body shape is important? I am a classic pear shape, I've always had a small waist, flat tummy, no bust and large bum and thighs.
All that has happened as I have aged and am now post menopause, is that the thighs are even bigger.

I have only gained weight recently though. Nothing to do with menopause or age.
It's because in the last six months I have had much less stress in my life and I've eaten more chocolate.
Stress makes the weight drop off me.

HormonalHeap · 25/05/2015 18:45

ErrolTheDragon you were exceptionally lucky as I also started exercising and dieting around that time, only to be thwarted by such severe night sweats and sleep quality that I just didn't have the stamina to maintain it.

I don't know if this is coincidence, but I lost a stone and that seemed to catapult me into menopause. I know oestrogen is stored in fat cells and am wondering if this is an explanation.

suzannecanthecan · 25/05/2015 18:52

?Butterfly thanks for explaining, it's as if the shift in hormones switches on some mechanisms in some women that lead to weight gain, some epigenetic change perhaps?

I wonder if keeping muscle mass high might be helpful, that usually requires serious strength training which even those who exercise regularly tend not to do

suzannecanthecan · 25/05/2015 18:54

And yes poor sleep quality can be a right barsteward and coupled with every day life stress can really do a number on all your healthy habits

butterfly133 · 25/05/2015 19:17

Suzanne, the dancing teacher can probably deadlift all of us put together Smile. Not that I go around feeling up my friends (!!!) but that woman is made of steel. My cousin also used to train with me - we like to lift as there is a terrible problem with osteoporosis in our family. So there's unlikely to be a muscle issue there - even if age is making them lose some muscle, they had a heck of a lot of muscle to start with so they aren't the stereotype middle aged woman that is sometimes shown in the media.

I think the dance teacher is feeling it even more because extra weight on a small frame looks a lot more shocking, if you know what I mean.

I had always thought that serious strength training would help with the menopause but looking at those two I guess not. Unless they balance out later? A poster upthread said she now feels like a very fit strong woman with fat chunks stuck to her - that's exactly what these two women would say.

My mum didn't even have night sweats. I am so hoping I take after her!

suzannecanthecan · 25/05/2015 21:05

oh well there goes that theory, I'm all out of idea's ButterflyConfused
I suppose partly it will be down to individual genetics/constitution and partly lifestyle.
Some people are lucky and don't gain fat despite not particularly exercising, and for others the reverse will be true?

suzannecanthecan · 25/05/2015 21:20

she's gained a stone around her tum. She hasn't eaten sugar or carbs for years for about 20 years so can't make any changes there. She could cut out dairy but honestly she's the sort of person who eats so little, you wonder how she stays healthy

maybe that has some bearing?
perhaps it is something to do with having a low bmr and perhaps a carb restricted diet has negative effects further down the line?
You would think that she would have quite a high bmr if she has a good level of muscle mass?
Obviously it's just not that simpleConfused

ErrolTheDragon · 25/05/2015 21:29

I think there are a heck of a lot of variables. re body shape, I'm a pear - perhaps that does help. Or maybe in my case having PCOS - which lead to me being on oestrogen bcp for many years - actually helped? (or maybe I'm being mislead by lack of periods and I've not yet really hit 'the change'!)

suzannecanthecan · 25/05/2015 21:37

I've heard that storing fat below the waist is associated with better health outcomes.

I suppose if you really want to know it's a case of looking at large scale studies?

bigTillyMint · 25/05/2015 21:40

Very interesting reading everybody's different experiences.

I have gained a bit of weight since I started the perimenopause, but after years and years of watching my weight, I decided a couple of years ago to stop weighing myself and get on with life! I do need to cut back and lose about half to a stone, but I'm just not that bothered and can't get myself motivatedBlush I do quite a bit of exercise, but I know I am snacking/eating too much

2rebecca · 25/05/2015 22:49

I've started doing more sit ups and plank exercises as despite cycling running and swimming regularly (but not too arduously I rarely run over 4km) I'm flabby round the middle and central obesity isn't a good think health risk wise. It started working fairly rapidly just doing 5 minutes on an evening.
Probably not drinking this campari and orange juice would help more but then you get in to the "do you live longer or does it just feel like it?" quandry.

IrianofWay · 26/05/2015 11:32

I had a bit of an eye-opener yesterday. H and I took the kids to Sidmouth for the day. H was taking photos with his phone. Later he showed me - there was one shot from behind of me and DS1 standing in the shallows watching DS2 and DD play with the dog. My legs and arse looked slimmer than I can ever remember them! But a different shot of me shows a bigger waist than I used to have. Used to be classic hourglass - not so much now. I weigh more or less the same as I did 6 or so years ago when I started peri-menopause. I think the legs and arse reduction is due to lots of running but maybe the bigger waist is just down to age and being post-menopause. Bit depressing though.

IrianofWay · 26/05/2015 11:34

Oh....and my belly is flatter too! But only when I haven't eaten wheat - then it's like I'm 5 months pregnant.

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