Middle age spread - aaargh!

[Whattodowithit]

Does anyone have any ideas for exercises to shift it? I am 54, have had 3 children so have that roll of post pregnancy skin that never seemed to go, am certainly peri-menopausal and have noticed over the past year the roll(s) of fat around my middle are getting bigger and bigger . I eat well and am lucky not to have a sweet tooth - salad is my favourite meal which I eat almost daily. I can't abide processed food and cook from scratch. I (fast) swim 40 lengths 4 times a week, I have dogs that need walking daily and I dance once a week, so I don't think 'not enough physical activity' or 'bad diet' is the problem. I would dance more but am slightly incapacitated at the moment because I currently have plantar fasciitis . I have never set foot inside a gym and don't intend to start now... I have tried to look on t'internet for 'at home' exercises, but most of the sites seem to be to do with toning up your abs rather than the middle wobble below... Do any of you kind people have any recommendations, please?

The benefits of exercise are not just weight control - though as you say, you have to do an awful lot to lose weight that way- though that's important.

I'm sure I read that losing weight is 80:20 - food:exercise.

Exercise is important for cardio vascular health ( more women die from heart disease than breast cancer), but also your bones and muscles. Too much is as bad as too little which is why women athletes are at higher risk from osteoporosis despite doing weight bearing exercise- because too much exercise causes reduction in oestrogen ( their periods often stop) and fat cells store /produce oestrogen in later life.

Anything that raises your heart rate is useful.

The formula for weight loss is something along the lines of a deficit of 3500 cals ( input of food versus energy expended) required to lose 1 pound. So over a week that's a deficit of 500 cals. This can be 250 'lost' as exercise and 250 lost as reduced food intake.

that's a daily deficit of 500 cals- 3500 over 7 days.

yes anything that raises the heart rate is beneficial, the benefits being in direct proportion to the amount of extra work your heart has to do.
If I had a limited amount of time to exercise I would want to do something which raised my heart rate far more than walking...ambling along at 3mph isnt going to do much unless you are very unused to exercise.

Biwi, it demonstrates nothing of the sort...the effects of exercise go way beyond the calories burned whilst you do it.

But whatever, if other people choose not to exercise it's none of my concern.

This thread has demonstrated to me that there's nothing inevitable about 'middle aged spread' it's all down to what you eat and how active or inactive you are

I'm not arguing against exercise! I think it's hugely important for our health. It's just not the be all and end all when it comes to losing weight. I thought I'd made that clear?

I agree with you re middle aged spread - it's not inevitable, but it's most likely to be diet that will help combat it.

OK sorry Biwi:)
I think it's very difficult to say which is the more significant factor, partly because we cant really quantify them and say 'x' amount of good diet is equal to 'y' amount of exercise.

You can have a starting point of no physical activity at all as a kind of baseline, but you cant really have no diet at all, or the worst imaginable diet (perhaps a beer only diet?)

I suppose we could say that if your diet is beyond reproach but you'd still like to be less plump then you could add some exercise to your life

Or if you dont feel you have room for more physical jerks then perhaps improving your diet might help.

My personal experience is that cleaning up my diet and increasing my activity level have both led to a drop in body fat.
I prefer to be thin but dont want to make my diet any more austere than it is, thats why I indulge in 'excessive' exercise, I also do it because I enjoy it and for the post exercise high

Well yes, I agree. When I engaged on my drive to lose 2 stones, firstly I addressed my diet and then (very swiftly afterwards) I started with exercise. I've gradually upped the exercise, which I think also allows me (now I've reached my initial target) to eat in a more relaxed fashion without putting weight back on.

More importantly, I feel much better for it. Obviously I feel better for having lost 2 stones in weight, but I really enjoy the feeling that serious exercise gives me.

mercury- the points I made about 80:20 were taken from some pretty good stuff on this topic. Exercise helps to lose weight but if you are still stuffing your face beyond the calories you burn off then it won't help.

Walking at 3mph may not be your idea of fun- it's not mine either and I certainly don't 'amble' at that pace. But some people who are 2- 5 stones overweight ( almost 40% of the population are obese) have to start with something.

Some exercise is out of bounds for some people- I can't run or do any high impact exercise due to an operation I had and was advised by physios not to do high impact sports.

If a person has plenty of time on their hands - no partner or family making demands on your time then it's easy to spend hours doing all the sport you want- but not everyone is in that situation. Most people can't fit in 30 mins a day!

I think there are a combination if things going on. I think as we reach menopause our appetites increase because our bodies are trying to lay down fat stores to protect our bones (see what I posted up thread) so we are fighting against biology to try and stay slim. Someone said you don't get middle aged women in all cultures but I would disagree with this - I think in most cultures you see post menopausal women thickening around the middle.
I also think that although I exercise still to quite a high level (run half marathons)'and would still be regarded as slim, that my everyday movements are starting to slow down. I think over a day this probably adds up to quite a differential between my 20 something self and now.
I've never had to think twice about my weight - if I pigged out a light day and weight would fall off. Doesn't happen now. Am beginning to see why people just give in and buy m and s slacks

Hmm. I think most people could fit in 30 minutes a day, but choose not to!

ok, quick google....

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121016084938.htm

' "It is a myth that the menopause causes a woman to gain weight. It's really just a consequence of environmental factors and aging which cause that. But there is no doubt that the new spare tyre many women complain of after menopause is real, and not a consequence of any changes they have made. Rather this is the body's response to the fall in estrogen at menopause: a shift of fat storage from the hips to the waist."
The review notes that increased abdominal fat increases the risk of future metabolic disease, such as diabetes and heart disease, in postmenopausal women. It also noted that, contrary to popular opinion, estrogen therapy (HRT) does not cause women to put on weight. There is good evidence that HRT can prevent abdominal fat increasing after menopause.
The IMS is calling for women to be more aware of the problems associated with excess weight, and to take early steps to ensure that they don't gain excess weight after the menopause.'

thoughts anyone?

It's kind of saying what I was that we are fighting against biology
At this age - doesn't mean we should give up but that we will have to fight for it. One friend, 55, has started losing weight and is very slim but she is training for a triathlon.

Google I'm not sure I buy the thing about appetite increasing, or rather I think it's possible to regulate your own appetite, I hear people saying exercise and swimming in particular increases appetite, I find it perfectly possible to regulate what I eat irrespective of how much exercise I do.

I have heard that tissues tend to become more insulin resistant as we age so that would account for some increased tendency to store fat but I'm not sure it's really menopause related.

I don't believe in denying myself anything as even healthy people die young.

Thats true in some instances, everyone I know of Irl who has died of SDS have all been fit and sporty ranging from 15-57.

I find now though if I go too
Long without food I start to feel ill and shaky - could go a whole
Day before if I was busy and wouldn't bother me.

well Google, you said our bodies are making us store more fat as a mechanism to increase our estrogen output.
The article says that the drop in estrogen causes a more androgenic pattern of fat storage so that fat gained after menopause tends to be abdominal, but it doesnt say they the menopause itself causes fat gain.

I think that we have to try harder as we get older, but thats just getting older, rather than because of the menopause.

That extract from the IMS is not new- it's been around for a while.
It's well documented that post meno women put weight on round their middle and become apple shaped unless they take great steps to keep slim. Fat around the torso is especially dangerous as it can be a sign of visceral fat which means there is a lot more internal fat around the organs of the body which you can't see.

HRT can sometimes prevent this to an extent because it mimics the pre meno state.

mercury out of interest are you peri or post meno? Have you noticed any difference?

I am peri, no I havent noticed any difference, I find it just as easy to control my weight as I ever did, I'm 5ft 2 and 7 stone 13

Maybe I'll have to eat my words when I'm post meno but I'm hopeful that if I stay as I am I'll be ok.

So did I until the last year, turned 50. Not post memo yet but definitely body changing in last year. How old are u mercury?

How about yoga?

I've found the best class for reshaping is body pump.

Am spreading too, some of it's weight but I don't eat so much. It's like my metab is slowing down. Thicker waste, thicker ankles (horror).

Google, i'm 47, have had peri symptoms for a couple of years now.
Can you link the body changes to any change of symptoms or any other lifestyle changes?

Crumble the thicker waist thing would be consistant with lower estrogen levels leading to fat being depostied around the middle..but you say you feel only some of the spread is due to weight gain?

No was exactly same as you
(Weight and height almost identical) and rarely crept over 8 stone and if I did a days light eating brought it down again. Suddenly my set point weight seems to be about 8
Stone 2 or 3. Not a mega gain but in a small frame feels a bit wobbly. As I say no one looking at me would think I'd let myself go but just find it frustrating!

2-3 extra pounds seems really a very small increase, would you not agree that you're lucky to stay in that weight range with a quite moderate amount of exercise?

until my early 40's I kept my weight at around 9 stone, I was very into strength training and so some of it was extra muscle.
Thinking it would be better to be thinner during the change I increased my cardio and reduced the intensity with the weights.

As you pointed out upthread I am doing an 'excessive' amount of exercise to stay under 8 stone

I am having a similar thing. I have been slim all my life but the last year or so i have developed a 'tummy'. it is difficult. I have had 3 dcs and am perimen at 46

I am not an excerciser and I have a sweet tooth so it is hard. I did used to do some dancing and will try and take it up again.