to find menopausal weight management mentally exhausting and restrictive?

[caretoshare]

I genuinely did not understand before how much mental energy it can take. You spend years being told to “eat healthy”, “move more”, “it’s just calories in versus calories out”, and then suddenly your body seems to change the rules without informing you. You can eat what feels like practically nothing and still gain weight from one takeaway, one dessert, one slightly normal weekend. Meanwhile people around you are saying “just be in a calorie deficit” as if you have not already reduced everything enjoyable.

It is not even vanity for many women. It is the exhausting feeling that maintaining your weight now requires permanent restriction and hypervigilance. You start mentally calculating every handful of nuts, every spoon of oil, every piece of bread, because the margin for error feels tiny.

What makes it worse is how invisible it is. Menopause is discussed in terms of hot flushes and periods stopping, but less about the sheer frustration of feeling your metabolism and body composition shift while being expected to behave as though nothing has changed.

Yes I exercise and I do weight training as well.

I know weight gain is not the worst thing in the world, but the constant mental negotiation around food can become draining. Sometimes it feels like menopause means your body now demands lifelong restraint just to stay the same size.

I know it is not like this for ALL women.

In essence yes, as it just puts your hormones back to normal.

This isn't for everyone as some have said they gained weight being on HRT.

Like I said before, the risk is bigger NOT being on HRT for your future health.

As we get older, even with our natural hormones back on HRT, the ageing process is still there - muscle mass & collagen etc will start to decline.

Exercise (esp weight bearing) and healthy eating are important at all ages, but especially now. I exercise at least 4 times a week mixing weights, classes, cardio & pilates. I generally eat very healthily in the week but am more relaxed on weekends. I have struggled to put weight on. I am 56 and have been on HRT for 6 years.

Give it a go, you could try if for 3-6 months and see how you find it

I have an HRT question, if I have no real symptoms or signs of estrogen loss should I start anyway? I am 51 and have a mirena IUD so no period for 5 years but I have no symptoms otherwise except maybe some hip aches and pains. I don’t want to miss the window but also don’t want to take a hormone I don’t need yet. anyone BTDT?

You might not notice the effects of atrophy until it's too late.

HRT caused weight gain for me.
the issue can be that HRT, unlike the pill, doesn’t replace your own hormone production, it adds to them. So if you are continually deficit in those hormones then it will work well and out balance the risks.
if your own hormones are unstable or still at a good level you are getting flooded with excess - this can cause problems and raise risk.
generally NHS don’t test your hormone levels so it’s a bit hit and miss.
the safe way to do it is to get a private assessment which will take snapshots at several different points over a few months.
im not doing that as I don’t need HRT - I’ve managed my symptoms successfully with other treatments and therefore don’t want the additional risk or hassle.

I put on 3.5 stones during perimenopause 😱went on HRT (combined sequential) and lost it through diet/exercise over a two-year period. I came off it after 5 yrs last year and noticed weight gain start again, I think I gained about a stone in six months. I have lost it again but it's a tough old business,
I have to be so careful. I just think of my body hanging onto fat cells like hostages. There is oestrogen in fat so if you're not supplementing, it can make losing weight harder.