Getting fit after menopause

[OldCow1]

Used to be fit and a reasonable weight. During perimenopause and menopause I've piled on the pounds. It's like I've aged massively over the past 5 years. Looking for success stories. Have you or anyone you know managed to turn it around if you let yourself go around menopause?

I didn’t really let myself go as such, but post hysterectomy I gained 2.5 stone in 6 months despite not changing my eating habits and became a fat, flabby mess.

I’d always been naturally slim and fairly active and it really shocked me. A lot of the weight was round my middle (I’d always had a small waist and flat tummy so it was really noticeable, especially as I’m really short).

In the new year I had my WTF moment so started working out - I see a PT once a week and do some form of exercise pretty much every day now. I’m running and doing weights.

I’ve lost a stone, two inches off my waist and three off my hips. I look and feel so much better. Still got a long way to go but I’m getting there.

Helped by switching my HRT and loosely doing 16:8.

I’m just making plans to get on with it now.

I’m not post menopause yet - still having periods - but nearly 52, and have aged and widened hugely over the past few years.
I was about to join the gym in March, but then other things got in the way of that!
Not sure what sort of diet or exercise regime to follow, so will watch this thread with interest. Desperately need to sort myself out.

I reckon I did OK. I was only 39 in the 'before' pic so I'd let myself go well before the menopause I'm 50 in the 'after' pic and was definitely in the menopausal phase.

I'm 53 now. I've still got the white dress figure but with more muscle

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. You can

Wow, that’s amazing @NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace! Well done you... I feel quite inspired.
I am worried about losing a lot of weight at my age though because of Potential loose skin/ flabbiness!

@SidesteppinTheRona

Please don't worry: loose skin is not a given. I lost six and a half stones in my late 40s and my tummy pinged right back into shape.

Go you; you got this

That's incredible! How did you go about it NiceLegs?

Yes, spill the beans @NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace!
Though we know that a lot of resolve, very hard work and self discipline will be involved, whatever the method.

I gained a stone following Tamoxifen induced menopause - no change to diet, would be considered very active and fit. I started losing it when I accepted that eating what I always had wasn’t working anymore.

My body has changed and needs fewer calories than it used to, is the truth that took me a few months to accept! I’ve lost most of it now, a few pounds to go till I feel comfortable in a Tri suit again, but at least I’m not looking in the mirror wondering wtf happened to me!

Regular strength work is pretty essential too, as you begin to lose muscle mass in perimenopause.

It can be done, but you need to play the long game and have faith that you’ll get results in the end.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace, wow! That’s very impressive!

Just been googling 16:8 Sidge. Didn't know what it was. That might suit me well.

I joined WeightWatchers at 15 stones and, once I'd shifted a couple of stones (there was no need for me to wait but I was low on confidence), I joined the gym and got myself the best PT in the whole of the world.

I'm still training with him now and .... have my first bodybuilding show in October

I'm a normal woman, with a normal life and a busy full-time job.

My aim is to help other women in the menopause phase realise that life doesn't end. It really can be amazing

I was 3 stone heavier at 49 than I am almost a decade later. I used a combination of meal replacement shakes and low carb meals.
Once I had lost the weight, I joined a gym and now exercise hard 5 days a week.
Some habits I have not lost - avoid the crisp , snack & biscuit aisle ; don’t buy what you shouldn’t eat etc. Drink water when I think I am hungry, or when I feel stressed.
But I first had to allow myself time to do it and not to prioritise everyone else and that was hard.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace

I reckon I did OK. I was only 39 in the 'before' pic so I'd let myself go well before the menopause I'm 50 in the 'after' pic and was definitely in the menopausal phase.

I'm 53 now. I've still got the white dress figure but with more muscle

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. You can

Wow you look fabulous Nice, well done what an achievement!

Though we know that a lot of resolve, very hard work and self discipline will be involved, whatever the method.

Yes, that's true and I'm not going to say it's easy but .... it's not as hard as you might imagine, either. I fell off the wagon plenty of times but I just bit the bullet and jumped back on.

I have a very normal life and a full-time (reasonably demanding) job. I ate a relatively standard diet while losing the weight; just a bit less of everything

I'm bodybuilding now so it is all chicken and porridge but you don't need to go down that route to lose the weight. I guess that you don't all want to become competitive bodybuilders

So .... what's stopping you?

Though we know that a lot of resolve, very hard work and self discipline will be involved, whatever the method

Not at all. I am post-menopausal and getting down at a steady rate by walking regularly, changing my eating habits slowly and by reading up on intermittent fasting and low carbing for information. If you change your habits one at a time then self discipline doesn't come into it. No need to pretend that it is a feat of superhuman endurance, just slow and steady wins the race.

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace You are insirational, thank you for posting. The decrease in female hormones at/after menopause and gradual age related loss of muscle mass are responsible for changes in body shape/composition, but you are living proof that by taking appropriate action you can reshape yourself and be amazing.

@OldCow1 Are there habits you had pre menopause that kept you fit and reasonable weight that you can regain to turn this round? Have faith in yourself, you have the knowledge and understanding to do this!

You don't need a trainer either. A little cardio and definitely a bit of lifting will do the trick.

You won't bulk up just by doing a bit of lifting by the way. So if that's worrying you, put it right out of your mind – I know it's not a look that everyone finds good (I get told often enough) It takes an anally restrictive diet and a LOT of weight to build serious muscle.

It's just discipline.

I'm 59, in the last year I lost four stone and ran a half marathon (after having run no further than a mile up until then). I did it entirely alone. I stopped eating crap, took the advice of a runner friend ('just run a bit further every day') and kept it up.

It's really all down to you. Willpower and discipline (and also enough time. I work a late shift so have the hours of daylight to run in, luckily).

I now weigh less than nine stone, and am fitter than I've ever been. You can do it! You just need to DO IT.

Thank you for the replies. It's nice to know I haven't left it too late. You see plenty of people change their ways but they're younger. Plenty of 70 + year olds that look fit and strong too but I thought maybe they'd just never got fat/unfit in the first place.