The HRT weight gain

[YorkshireMandy]

I'm back again since posting about my HRT belly last autumn. I've been off my HRT since then due to the uncontrollable weight gain. This gain was also exacerbated in late summer due to an achilles tendon injury which prevented me from running.

Whilst I knew I'd gained a lot in the 16 months on HRT I'd been actively finding lots of ways to exercise and cut calories. I've been resistance and cardio training 5 days a week for many months now. In the past 9 weeks I've started my running program again alongside other exercise and I've definitely lost a lot of inches. I thought I had a stone to go before I got back to my October 2021 weight, that is until I went to the GP on Monday. Their scales rather than the ones at my pals house that I've been using occasionally, reveal that it's almost 2st to go! I mean how depressing is that? That also means between the HRT and the tendon injury I probably gained 3st plus! To add insult to injury, to get well into normal BMI I'd need to shed a further half stone. The nurse did say that they don't actually use BMI anymore at my surgery and that my activity level, usually 90 to 120 mins a day would indicate that my muscle level is also high, something I'm inclined to agree with since I take a UK size 12 trouser. It's all belly and boobs for any fat gain with me and I do have a slightly protruding tummy.

I'm trying to forget about the numbers on the scale tbh. I don't own scales at home because I get obsessed with numbers having had an eating disorder that almost finished me off when I was a teenager. I spoke to the nurse about the HRT gain because I literally ballooned from a UK 10/12 to a 16 which at 5'3" looks big. Nothing else had changed at the time as my 5 days of exercise regime and nutrition had stayed the same. She said she hears the same from many women in my age group and that HRT does not suit everyone. The advice is to keep doing what I'm doing and the rest will gradually come off. HRT weight goes on so fast but comes off so slowly. My BP is raised because of the extra fat in my boobs and tummy which is something I never had before either.

The problem I'm having at the minute is that my estrogen is suddenly pretty high naturally or at least it feels that way. My breasts get really sore and swollen from mid cycle onwards and the bloating around that time is also pretty crazy. Resultantly I almost feel like giving up. I'm putting in so much effort to shedding the fat that when this happens it makes me so depressed. I know one thing, I won't touch HRT again with a bargepole!

Some people say too much exercise can raise cortisol levels, encouraging weight gain in women at menopausal age.

I wonder what would happen if you took a week off, walking only, a kind of reset? Surprise your body into letting the weight go?

for some reason op you’re not forthcoming about what your daily diet looks like

what is your alcohol intake like?

what does the daily 90-120 minute exercise actually involve?

My boobs ballooned too, it seems to happen a lot.

OP, with the best will in the world, you sound as if you’re obsessing unnecessarily over the numbers.

You say your GP surgery doesn’t use BMI any more.
You’re muscular.
You’re wearing smaller trousers and dropping inches.
You’re very active.

It sounds like you’re doing great.

Read up on ‘the third ovary’. There’s a school of thought that says during the menopause, women’s bodies try to make up for the drop in oestrogen by holding on to the fat cells around the stomach, as that’s where a lot of oestrogen is produced, hence what’s known as ‘Middle Aged Spread.’

We have to give our bodies some leeway, don’t we? We’re not twenty, or thirty, or even forty any more.

Stop stressing over the scales and think about your bone density, muscle tone, blood pressure and balance instead, which are most likely excellent, given your regime.

you have started many threads about HRT and this weight gain OP

I think the time has come to maybe at least consider other factors

@Bignanna Same when I took the pill when younger
Had to be so strict to get it off!

Trouble is, the weight comes off, but not off the boobs.

Paprikaforever this is only my second thread on HRT weight gain. Don't be so rude! Why should I list everything I ate yesterday. I've already listed the types of foods I eat and that my alcohol intake is next to zero. I've already listed the types of exercise I do. The fact is I gained on HRT but after 8 months off I have only lost a third of what I've gained. I have a busy job and I make time to exercise. I'm not stuffing my face with junk or sitting on my backside as you seem to be insinuating. There are clearly a group of people on here who starve themselves or are smug about remaining slim. Someone said 1400 calories might be too much!! FFS!! I've known 7 year old consume more. I'm not posting on here anymore if all I'm going to get are judgemental comments from anorexic skinny minnies

and when you came off HRT on other thread about that… you posted

All I know is that after 5 days without it, I'm not bloated and my tummy is clearly getting smaller. I'd rather have the other symptoms than get fat. J

but now it’s to blame

Ok OP just blame HRT despite not being on it for many months now.

what does your exercise involve ?

@Bignanna I wonder what the science behind it is

OP, with respect, 7 year olds are growing children.

I haven't been on HRT, but I've been utterly convinced that multiple different hormonal contraceptions have been the cause of weight gain at various points in my life. It even says so under possible side effects.

Sadly, hindsight is 20/20, and I can see now that I was simply eating too much - the wrong things, and the wrong portions. And something that I hadn't got my head around: Just because I was eating less than I had been when trying to lose weight, that didn't necessarily mean I was in a calorie deficit - to actually lose weight (or enough of one to see a motivational difference).

I'm sorry PPs have upset you, but almost everyone eats more calories than they think, and burns fewer calories than they think through exercise. Therein normally lies the discrepancy.

Why should you list everything you ate?

You don't have to.
I was trying to be helpful.
And you did post this asking for help.

'Types' of food isn't helpful because it's portion size that is also important.

Going back to the other thread last week, there were several posters who said that now, in their 50s or 60s, they have to drop down to 1000 cals a day to lose weight. Or they try to 5:2 diet, (intermittent fasting) or time-limited eating.

Anyway, no point offering advice.

I hai Ed loads very quickly op so ignore the "I didn't". We are won't all the same

I think I'm oestrogen sensitive as my boobs ballon when on any hormone or pregnant. All oestrogen heavy.

I came off as I was fat. Grumpy and spotting

It really did not suit me.

I was 11st 9 when I started HRT in November 2022 and 13:12 this January. I would love to attribute it to HRT but in reality I was not paying attention to my diet and not exercising at all.

Decided to do something about it in late Jan, hiit class x 2 per week, C210k started in March and 2 stone now lost due to fast800 and intermittent fasting. Plan to lost another half a stone and maintain.

I feel so much better for it and fitter than I have been for a long time.

OP, I won't say a bald 'it's not HRT' but the reality is, it's very unlikely to be. There is no evidence to say that HRT contributes to or addresses, weight gain. In theory, it will not affect weight gain, but neither will you lose weight - however, it helps with bloating, as well as sleep and energy levels so it makes it easier to exercise and eat healthily.

Clearly in your case, there are a combination of issues going on, it simply cannot just be HRT - you haven't even been on it recently!

I don't have a weight issue so I am reluctant to say too much BUT I did notice a small increase in weight as I hit 40, largely offset by a better physique and overall shape (as I increased by strength and resistance training, from mostly cardio, especially running).

But more generally, in the last few years, prior to, and since, taking HRT, I've had to deal with issues of not having an appetite in the same way, bloating, feeling unwell or unhappy with my shape, and just not being ... 'right'. So I do get the overall point.

I think most posters make useful points but it's how to decide which are relevant for you! In your 40s, and in peri, you need to completely reassess your approach - like @JinglingSpringbells having been firm on the need for carbs in my diet my whole life, I have had to recalculate, I can't eat a full sandwich for lunch now - so I could have maybe a half sandwich and then some fruit / yogurt and feel fine. I also struggle to eat after 7 or so in the evening but I often have to, due to my schedule. In recent weeks I've switched trainer and am doing shorter, more intense sessions (35 minutes no rest, from 45) and heavier weights, in the weights sessions. I feel hugely better but that is possibly also psychological, rather than necessarily physical. People kept telling me I looked great but I just felt not myself and haggard.

I don't think there is a shortcut - it's about experimenting with different exercise and eating patterns, no one person's approach will suit everyone.

If you are on IG there are great accounts of women 45+ who were fit and looked well beforehand but found themselves exhausted and drained by exercise and really overhauled their approach, including duration, type and intensity of exercise and increasing protein, it's amazing to see the difference and I've taken suggestions on board.

For me HRT was the starting point - I couldn't survive without it.

I take HRT and went from a size 18 to 14 (18kgs loss) purely by cutting carbs. I did no additional exercise to my normal aqua aerobics and walking.

Oh, and after that longer-than-intended post, I wanted to say I think @JinglingSpringbells probably has it spot on - whether we want to admit it or not, there's hard work, and hard choices needed when it comes to managing our weight, for the majority of us. Especially if it is something we never thought about before. You do have to really overhaul your diet, timing of meals, exercise pattern (for example, I was doing more cardio, and found I was actually getting bloated after classes - I've since seen this as an issue for many women, exercising intensively and actually feeling bigger, in the wrong way!)

I agree with you @EarringsandLipstick

It's sad that someone feels the need to become aggressive when we're trying to help.

I know that now I use far less energy than I did in my 20s-40s when children and work meant I was moving around all day. I don't count calories but I'm very portion-aware and am low-carb.

I doubt OP is reading but if you are maybe there is something helpful here 🙂

OP it sounds like you are doing a terrific job with all your exercise, so remember you will be very healthy even if the scales aren’t to your liking.
I have gained some weight since starting HRT, but I had gained most of the weight in the run up to starting HRT. Some posters have argued that HRT must have caused them weight gain, because ‘nothing else has changed’. But this isn’t true at all! The fact we sought out HRT is because we are all at /reaching menopause and everything inside us is changing! Its menopause hormone changes driving the gain and it takes a will of steel to fight against it!
I have accepted now that being 50 and peri means my metabolism is even slower than when I was 40. I am currently dieting and very slowly losing it, but I am having to eat like a bird now to lose even a 1lb a week 😔. It’s just part of getting older, it sucks. I used to watch my elderly gran refusing a roll with her soup, limiting herself to eat the fish but not the breadcrumbs etc. to stay slim. I’m clearly needing to go the same now myself! Best of luck to you, and everyone else fighting the fat tummies!

3 years on HRT, better skin and hair, no weight gain and I'm a super lazy, no gym

At menopause, there is a redistribution of body fat in women. It changes so most is stored on the tummy. This is due to loss of estrogen (so women start putting weight on where men do and at the same time their risk of heart disease rises like men's.)

HRT can definitely help prevent - to an extent.

Usually, weight gain on HRT is water retention and should drop off in 3 months or so. There are also several types of progesterone used in HRT and some are worse than others for this. Some women often feel more hungry on HRT especially the effects of progestogens, so they start eating more.

I agree with a PP who says that regardless of any HRT or not, weight gain is harder to shift in later life .

But metabolism doesn't change until around 60- this has been in a few science articles/ research around a year ago- and busted the myth that metabolism changes at 50.

It's very easy to underestimate the amount of food and overestimate the effects of exercise. Most of us aren't using more than 300 cals even for something like a brisk 3 mile walk, which is around the same as a couple of slices of bread with butter or something on it. Losing weight is 80% food and 20% exercise (not my words, but the science.)

The OP’s blind insistence that her weight gain is ONLY due to HRT (despite being off it for 8 months) is the main contributing factor to her not losing weight

What HRT are/were you on, OP? There are many different types.

progesterone: Pill? Mirena coil?

oestrogen: Pill? Oestrogel? Sandrogel?

testosterone?

I found the progesterone pill made me eat all the time. It felt like I had PMT. I never felt full.

I had a hysterectomy in the end and I’m only on oestrogen gel now and I’ve changed shape but I haven’t really got fatter.