to ask how you lost your menopause related weight gain?

[clippie]

The weight gain seems to have appeared with not much difference to my regular diet. It doesn't shift like it used to. Trousers feel tight and I have developed some rolls around my stomach.

The usual tricks I use to lose weight are not working. I would get rid of any weight gain with intermittent fasting but it is not working this time. I walk at least 10k steps a day and do weight training 4 times a week.

I feel like I am fighting with my hormones which do not want me to lose weight.

I live rurally so walk a lot in the woods

Good luck

This is the conclusion I've come to too. I maintain on around 1,000 calories a day. I need to cut down to 800 or less for at least 3 weeks to lose even 2lb.

I don't have any specific experience to add, but it's clear that calorie requirements decrease while appetite and/or habits don't decrease, at least not to the same extent. With that in mind, my approach, which granted I've only just started, is to try and stack the odds in my favour. I've taken some inspiration from the Glucose Goddess and Interval Weight loss. For example, preventing glucose swings by eating a protein based breakfast, not eating carbs between meals, eating different food groups in a particular order. Also reducing cravings by having lots of choices of healthy food in the house and in sight, and less of the other stuff, getting a decent night's sleep etc. Doing weights to improve or at least maintain muscle mass as this will improve/maintain metabolism. And not losing too much weight too quickly as this could lead to rebound/yo-yo dieting.

I have to say since starting this I haven't had any urge to eat between meals. Whether it produces results time will tell, but it is definitely playing the long game rather than a quick fix.

I’m so fed up with losing & gaining the same stone for the last 5 yrs. I weighed roughly the same for 15 yrs sfyer my DC were born eating more or less what i wanted! If I felt I needed/ wanted to lose a few pounds for a holiday/special occasion it was always easy enough. Then all of a sudden I gained over 2st while eating the same as before.
I exercise much more than I used to, dog walking & recently joining a gym . Have dropped a couple of pounds & clothes fitting a bit better but I have had to significantly reduce the number of calories I eat. It’s soul destroying as I feel hungry most of the time. I cook from scratch & have cut out takeaways this year as they were a weekly bad habit we got into as a family. Currently trying to
eat more protein & snack on fruit & veg rather than crisps which are my downfall. Trying to reduce carbs as bread & pasta are faves so this is hard.Wonder when appetite will reduces as most older people I know eat much less?

I hate to say it, but my experience is the appetite doesn't reduce, you just get used to being more disciplined in what you eat and the amount 😟

I tried ever which way to lose the weight I gained, about 3/4 of a stone but nothing would shift my stubborn tummy. Eventually, I gave up and over a period of time, (a couple of years), it just fell off naturally. I'm now back to size 10. I think it's hormones.

I didn't gain any weight but I now weigh about half a stone less than pre-menopause. I've always been fit and normal weight (what you would now call slim). I did turn vegetarian a few years ago which I think triggered the weight loss. I also can't tolerate alcohol now so that may have been a factor.

Weight gain is not inevitable. I never "diet" and I eat plenty of cake but I don't do takeaways, fizzy drinks or rubbish food.

Find out your TDEE. Mine made me weep. It's 1400 so to lose weight I have to eat 1000 calories a day. I've just lost 3 and half stone doing that. I actually had to stop exercising as much as I used to as 1000 really feels very little.

I tried to lose weight for 7 years before that, exercising my arse off, but I was doing 1500 calories, so actually gaining weight!

Your metabolism is slowing as you age. You need to eat less, you can't eat portions like when you were 25. So say you used to have 5 roast potatoes with your Sunday dinner, now have 3 and be consistent. Cup of tea and a biscuit ? You used to eat 3, now have 1.

One thing I do is look at what it is I’m offered and decide the cost benefit analysis. A cheap custard cream? A slice of Tesco sliced bread? No thanks but those extra calories if I take them will be an M&S shortbread and a slice of sourdough at my lovely local cafe. You cannot deny everything you like in life but go for quality not quantity.

Mounjaro

I am 56 and same weight from say5 years ago, around 10st 5'9.

I hardly ever eat crisps, biscuits, chocolate, sweets, ice-cream, or processed food generally.
I try to eat high protein meals with plenty veg, pulses.
I don't eat much bread and fewer potatoes.

Mostly I eat well for health rather than weight as I have an autoimmune condition and want to feel as well as possible.

I walk a lot and do some weights and a bit of cardio.

I just eat less. I haven’t had noticeable weight gain - currently in middle of induced menopause- and my weight has fluctuated by +/- 1kg from one week to the next.

Following with interest. I'm on HRT but still gained weight despite eating the same amount.

Can anyone suggest a protein heavy breakfast that doesn't require much preparation in the morning?

I'm 2 and a half stone overweight, with too much on my tummy, definitely need to do something about it.

I gave up (added) sugar - replaced all biscuits/cake/chocolate with fruit.
stopped eating breakfast.
upped protein

and bought mounjaro on the Black market

Since I had my last baby at 40 it's been an absolute grind to loose a gram.

Ive always exercised a lot and normally would just step that up to loose any excess but that absolutely does not work for me any more. I definitely have to eat less and differently. I've pretty much stopped eating sugar other than fruit, hardly any processed food, more protein, less bread (the heartache, other people have cake, I have toast, butter, marmite!) and very sadly, have pretty much quit booze.

The last one is an absolute easy win to be honest. I would just grab the odd beer or glass of wine Thus-Sun at home without much thinking. I'm now only having a drink when I'm out/making a nice meal at home. Trousers became more comfortable pretty quickly.

I put on about 6lb when I started on HRT - all on my stomach and boobs. I'm only 8.4 stone usually so I looked awful

I realised I was eating too much so I cut out everything in between meals, cut portions down and ate hardly any carbs. Drank loads of water from a new Stanley cup that I took everywhere.

I lost about 4lb over a month which was a good start and then my husband was seriously ill so I didn't eat for a week and lost the last 2lb.

To keep it off though I'll need to be quite strict about carbs and not snacking. It's not much fun but anything is better than looking pregnant!

@Nosebooper , it's maybe not that exciting, but my breakfast is basic muesli, soya flakes, almond protein, powdered bran (for fibre), couple of raisins and some grapes/banana, leave it to soak in soy milk in a pot which I take to work (the soaking because a dentist told me unsoaked muesli is bad for teeth). I eat it at work at 9.30 and am then nicely full til lunch. recommended by my colorectal doc friend. I just have the containers of things lined up in my cupboard amongst the pasta and rice and I spoon them into the pot every evening, it literally takes 30 seconds.

Reading this I sound like a maniac but I feel like it's really helped my digestion. One thing I really notice, living in Germany and coming to visit in the UK, is the sheer unbelievable volume of yummy, unhealthy stuff in the UK, and I think that makes it harder. The crisp choice to die for! I do think it's hard to ignore all those amazing snacks, but the key is unfortunately to eat like people in the old days and have small sensible portions and not eat UPFs. Here in Germany most of my female colleagues my age are very slim, not all of course, and I think it's because they are fairly active but also they are frequently having a sandwich for dinner and they are not eating an M&S salted caramel billionaire shortbread twirl cookie or whatever, but rather a small yoghurt, because there is just nothing that yummy here.

Why the assumption that it should be lost ?

same with baby weight , let’s challenge the assumption that it should be lost and that everyone should

fine if you want to / need to but let’s be careful
with our language

Definitely. I used to live in Germany too and they definitely eat healthier, no convenience food, no snacks or not as many. It's so tempting in the supermarket, crisps, pastries, biscuits .. I need to go back to online shopping I think!

I'm not sure I could eat that for breakfast. I usually have porridge with flax seed and a sprinkling of brown sugar. I know I should cut out the sugar, but it's probably less than a teaspoon and I have half a tsp in tea once a day, none in coffee.

I thought maybe I should make an omelette and eat it cold, but worry about constipation if I cut out the porridge, it keeps me regular 😂

In all seriousness (after my living on air comment) same as pp i have to keep at about 800c to lose. And even then it's slow. And i do need to keep my weight down.
I have a small 'frame' (average height), and my joints struggle when i'm over weight - i can feel it straight away in my knees when i lose a couple of pounds.

With my daily low calorie intake i worry about muscle wasting! So i have taken up doing some arm weight training and i do daily yoga. It's a bit miserable and boring keeping so low on calories though. Especially when you have to stick to a reasonable budget too.

I've trained myself to eat more or less the same cheap things every day during the day and then when i cook for the family in the evening that's where the variation is.

I haven't had any post menopausal weight gain. That's because I developed a digestive issue which reduces the godds I can eat. No cheese, no fat from meat, no beer. If I eat too much of anything I get really nasty digestive pains (not just tummy ache).

I think that how you lose it is not eating too much and avoiding fat and sugar as much as possible.

overnight oats. Frozen berries in the bottom of the bowl. Some porridge oats, then a load of fat free Greek yoghurt on top. Leave overnight and stir when you get up in the morning. I have it every day

0h really ! My waist is the thing that upsets me the most. It was never super amazing but I did have one. Now I don't have any and there's such a roll of fat its so depressing. The rest is fine basically

Mounjaro. After trying everything else.

Honestly protein shakes are super easy. I do one with added banana and porridge oats.