Weight gain in menopause - is it only reducing calories to a very low level that will work?

[HelenHywater]

Inexplicably, I've put on about 4kg. No change to my diet or exercise regime. I have tried various different ways of eating but nothing is working at all. I generally eat around 1600 cals a day. I don't lose weight on 1300 cals a day either. What has worked for you? Do I really need to go on a 1000 cals a day diet?

What has worked for you?

Intermittent fasting has worked for me. I've lost 3 stones in the past year, doing 16:8 and a work out before eating. I'm 58, and post menopausal now. My weight went up dramatically during the menopause.

I do also watch what I eat, am eating a plant based diet but don't calorie count. If I want a slice of cake or a couple of biscuits then I have them.

@HelenHywater the difficult thing is that as we get older it's harder and harder to hang onto muscle and what used to work in the past is no longer enough as we need more intense stimulus and better recovery/nutrition. Stress levels can also play a role. You might want to check out some of Stacey Sims' writing about menopause, strength, stress and health - either her blog or her book Level Up.

Ive lost nearly 6st now in the last year during peri so something is working!
There are factors that def helped though. Going vegan was one as you tend to eat more healthy foods and fresh fruit and veg after you have been doing it a while.
Conversely it also made me deficient in vit D! I struggled to lose weight for years and confused many of my vit deficiency symptoms (fatigue, depression, joint pain, inability to lose weight) for peri symptoms....once I got my levels back up to normal its like my metabolism started working again!😄

I find that gentle methods work best for me though. I eat lots of unprocessed, fresh foods and try not to go above a 200cal deficit on the daily. Also I have crappy joints so exercise is low intensity/low impact. I walk 6-12, 000 steps a day just going about my day. Also I exercise 5 days a week (20mins weight training/20 mins exercise bike x3, 20 mins pilates, 20 mini stepper x2).
TBH I dont think extreme diet or exercise works that well past a certain age.....its too big a shock to the system and you have to go sit down with a nice cup of tea!!LOL😆

Stacy Sims Next Level is a good read too. I totally agree with @UnaOfStormhold‘s informative post. I don’t think I’m peri yet as not really any symptoms at 48, but I’ve started weight training in preparation. I plan to combine that with my running and spinning which I’ve been doing for years. Good luck OP. Generally I would say your body is telling you to change something up - whatever that may be.

You do realise that your situation may be different to others'? What a grimly smug and small-minded comment.

Lucky you - but your comment isn't helpful.

Periods don't affect some people at all, but are a nightmare for others - menopause is the same. Some people go through it OK and others get a horrible raft of symptoms. I am post meno and was blindsided by a range of horrible symptoms and think your comment is very narrow minded. Incidentally, when I had periods, they gave me no issues, ever. They were relatively painless, not too heavy, didn't affect mood and didn't stop me doing anything, ever. But I don't pretend that periods aren't problematic for others.

The book mentioned above is great! Also The True You Diet by John Briffa

The symptoms you describe sound more like too much estrogen to me. I'm on Mirena coil and estrogen patches and that works well for me. Sorry that doesn't help with your original question OP!

Yes - I also felt absolutely murderous when I was on the progesterone. It's hard to see which one of the two caused me problems, but I had the same when I took the pill and when I took progesterone in order to get and stay pregnant. The hormones really don't agree with me!

Its worth remembering that as you age your metabolism will naturally slow down so you can be doing exactly the same thing you did when younger and still put on weight.
Which is so unfair!!LOL