Where has my willpower and motivation gone?

[WarmFunKindStrong]

Can anyone help me? I am post menopausal at 55, the last year I have gained 25lbs and have completely lost my willpower and motivation to do anything about it. What can I do to find it? Can anyone share their experience and maybe point me in the right direction or give me some hope that this is a temporary state?

I am at a complete loss as to how I can overcome this. HELP!!!

Wish I knew the answer! My biggest menopause symptom is a complete lack of motivation….for anything! I have to force myself to exercise where as before I would exercise daily no problem, I was so motivated to keep slim fit and healthy, I was very driven and have been all my adult life until I reached menopause, it’s horrible. I just power through though at the moment hate every minute of it and often feel like throwing the towel in permanently but I am trying to fight it, maybe HRT would help?I’m not on it myself.

@LadyVictoriaSponge
I am in HRT (as of last Monday) however my pals tell me that although HRT can do many things, motivation and willpower is not one of its many amazing benefits, sadly.

On on HRT

That’s a shame I thought it was a cure all.

Bump. Please 🙏🏾. Someone must have been through similar and can advise...

Am on HRT but feel exactly the same. Have forced myself to keep exercising and enjoy it once I'm there (I do spin and weights classes) but it's such a huge effort every time to get myself out the door compared to a few years ago.

But also I'm not motivated to do anything else - going out, catching up with friends, decorating, thinking about Christmas. HRT has resolved my physical symptoms but the lack of motivation to do anything has hit me really hard this year. Feel lost. Wonder if testosterone would help??

@stringbean exactly how I feel: I don't want to go out at all: even telephone calls are a huge effort. 😭

I feel like I have lost me somewhere. I can't bear the thought of this being my new normal....

@WarmFunKindStrong Absolutely! I keep saying that the me of 25 years ago wouldn't recognise me now

I felt the same it was horrible hot flashes and not sleeping were the worst bit as I couldn't concentrate on anything I felt like I was disappearing ! all the things I loved doing became such an effort , Started HRT and sleep is great now but still find it hard to motivate myself . I make a list each week of the things I want to achieve and I force myself to complete 2 of them each day it's really helped .

Is there a solution though? I can't seem to get a grip on things. Nothing seems to help. I am at a loss as to what I can do to turn things around.

It there not anyone who can share their experience or suggest something? Please.

Started HRT recently and it has Definitely improved my "Get Up and Go" and motivation, so worth considering.

I struggled for a couple of years with this, but recently seem to have found the old me again, feeling motivated and capable and interested in life again.
But i've no idea why, and i'm sorry, that's probably of no help to you, except to say that all these meno things seem to come and go in waves.
It's very likely to fizzle out at some point, the old you is still in there somewhere.

I recently went for food intolerance testing and have surprisingly found my mojo and am staying away from all the stuff I am intolerant to. It's only been a week and have already lost half a stone. I'd say worth a try as dont have willpower really and was binging badly before but feel sooooo good now.

Mine has disappeared and HRT hasn’t helped me with the mental symptoms. I try and push through but it’s the daily cycle of routine chores and caring for the needs of others I I find the hardest. Stuff needs doing but the daily routine saps my enthusiasm and motivation, then I cba to get beyond this and find anything that fires me up. A list helps but I also think a deeper sense of purpose can give you passion and motivate you. I definitely don’t feel this about the daily chores!

For me the only thing that has helped & note I said helped not cured us;

Exercise, heavy weights, walking, some cardio like boxing
Ensure I get enough daylight
Diet, almost completely clean, no sugar, lots of veg, seeds. Some nuts
Gave up alcohol
Accept that this is a new phase of my life. My old energy is never coming back & try to manage expectations

Get your iron levels & thyroid checked too.

Aversion to exercise is one symptom of low iron levels.

But, yeah, need to be super-careful with food choices.

I am exactly the same and on HRT, which if anything I feel has made me worse. I am at my heaviest and have no interest in exercising or watching what I eat, as I am struggling with massive levels of anxiety which I think is linked to my menopause.

I feel exactly the same. I used to go to the gym 4 times a week now once. I'm fat now, I look awful but I can't get motivated to do anything about it. It's horrendous.

I'm on HRT which was a miracle for me with every other symptom. Something that I think has helped a bit is taking vitamin b12 with saffron. I had lost all enthusiasm for even things I previously enjoyed but the B12 has given me a bit of enthusiasm back for cooking and gardening.

I am willing try B12 and iron thank you @Wombat27A and @Movinghouseatlast .

What I hope to tackle is my motivation to anything other than the bare minimum: work, home, sleep, repeat... Can't be bothered to exercise, my appetite is endless, and I don't seem to summon up the wherewithal to do anything about it.

My next step with this issue I think is looking to see if Gp will prescribe testosterone. I've been on hrt for a year and now on 100 patches.

I did get a private testosterone test which said my levels are too low for a woman. No idea if Gp will accept that though, and I know it's based on libido (which is mostly awol.)

I know that my ferritin is slipping based on a recent blood test and then I had a heavy bleed so I'm looking at that too.