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!