January 2025 starters - goal weight era

[HeidiLite]

New thread!

I started HRT in January. I had a number of things that didn't feel right, but nothing that felt huge. Until you started to count them all up. It's been brilliant for me. The one thing I have noticed is that I'm consistently at the top, or over my 2lb buffer since starting instead of being at the bottom or under jt. Could be other factors, could be HRT, but it's worth it.

@DGmaintaining glad you've got back to goal.
@BreezyPeer sounds like you are having fun with your new man ❤️
@Polkadotdash glad you are getting some support to look into the lack of weight loss

Enjoy your weekends!

Looks like people have had a stressful week with exams and teenagers 😣.

@Polkadotdash I agree with everyone else's good advice re taking the pressure off yourself and focusing on getting well, are they going to investigate why you are anaemic again? Anaemia is hard when you are working and have a family life, you are never running on a full tank and you don't realise how fatigued you actually are because you don't know what 'normal' is.

Busy week here including being away for a couple of days. Trapped in meetings with carb heavy lunches provided and no alternatives. Maintained my weight, no loss at all although I did record my lowest ever weight since starting before I left for London ... not seen since 😅. I did skip my reformer pilates class yesterday as I was too tired, back on it tomorrow.

My son made it through his exam and was very relieved to get all the questions he’d prepped for. He also bought me flowers to say sorry for giving me an heart attack. He’s a good lad. I also learned that they can admit you to an exam up to an hour late. Having never been late for an exam I had no idea. I don’t think they publicise it though otherwise s everyone be turning up in their own sweet time! I’m glad (in a weird way) hear that everyone else’s kids are also giving them heart attacks about their exams too 😆. @DGmaintaining the sandwich thing really made me laugh. A boy’s priority is always food! And agree about the boyfriend drama @myladyjane

Plus I saw a GP yesterday. It was a locum though. Im not entirely sure she grasped what I was on about with HRT. She seemed more focussed on ruling out other things before trying HRT, which to me seems bonkers. I’ve only got one ovary and my blood test couldn’t detect an oestrogen level - I’d say it’s a good chance that I feel shit because of that? I’ve spent the last decade fighting off their offers of HRT because I knew something else was up and now I’ve had the hysterectomy and I’m still not well they don’t want to offer it to me. Madness. I asked her if the all over muscle ache and sore skin were signs of menopause and she said ‘possibly but the average age for menopause is 53 and you’re not there yet’ Plus because I’m not having hot flushes or night sweats it seems that it doesn’t count. @BreezyPeer your hot flush experience sounds absolutely awful. 💐
I did manage to persuade her to refer me for an iron transfusion though. And I’ve booked private vit D and vit b12 injections for next week as well to try to boost myself.

@PenelopePitstopPersists lovely to see you! And @BreezyPeer you saucy minx. He does sound like a keeper mate.

it’s all go chez Jane this morning. Dd2 decided not to pick up with lad again. Dd1’s end of an era night out turned into true 16 year old carnage. Everyone got too pissed, especially dds best mate, dds boyfriend fell asleep and didn’t turn up and she was devastated and came home in floods of pissed tears at 11 and sat on my lap and cried like she was a toddler again. Given she’s 6 inches taller than me, this was an experience! The bf had adhd and struggles with time keeping stuff but he lets her down repeatedly and although he does adore her and is a lovely lad, it’s eroding her self esteem a bit (he doesn’t seem to be as unreliable with his mates).

on the plus side I went for a nice run this morning. First one since I had my nasty virus and it was fun. Have tidied, dh and dd are jet washing the patio and I’ve weeded. Once we’re done, reading in the garden is the order of the day I think…..

@Polkadotdash I thought the average age for menopause was 50? Also I don’t have night sweats or hot flushes at all. In fact symptom wise, other than rubbish sleep and an undefinable ‘flat’ feeling, I have nothing to write home about. And got hrt pretty easily. So v v frustrating and I think go back. Good re the other bits. Hope they kick in super soon.

I googled - it is 50 in the uk and 51 in the us. And average age range is between 45 and 55. Not sure where you sit in that range but tell them to nob off

Quick post holiday accountability and weigh in post before I catch up

Gain of 2.6lbs taking me to 8st 10.2. Worth every mouthful

Hi everyone, I'm just popping into say hello. I've been reading all your posts but been busy.

@Polkadotdash Like you, my weight loss has been frustratingly slow. I've been hovering around 11st 8 for the last couple of months. I'm on 10mg MJ but I think when I'm back from my holiday in Italy, I will go up to 12.5mg to try and lose the final stone. I also know I need to do more proper exercise. I do a lot of informal activity in my daily life but I've now realised it's not enough. We'll get there one of these days 😊

I also wanted to say that I would recommend you go back to your GP to try and get HRT. I actually only started my HRT after my menopause and went through Louise Newson's clinic (it was during lockdown). I haven't looked back since. I did get hot flushes, but I became more and more anxious during my 40s, had more frequent UTIs and just felt a complete loss of self-esteem. I started HRT because of the benefits it has with regards to osteoporosis, heart issues and most importantly for me as it's in my family, dementia. The Balance App and website is great for information. The app also lists all the symptoms for peri-menopause and meno-pause and you can keep a journal which can be downloaded to show to your GP. The app also gives advice about talking to your GP to get HRT. I intend to stay on HRT for life and I will fight my GP if they try to tell me to come off it. It makes me so cross that doctors aren't taught more about women's health and that anti-depressants and other medication isn't always the answer.

I'll come off my soapbox now. @Polkadotdash you may find that HRT will help some of your health issues, but it will then allow you to focus on what is really wrong. I wish you all the best.

Have a good bank holiday weekend and half term everyone x

@myladyjane I’m 51. But I don’t really care what the average is and that’s what the locum wasn’t listening to. My blood test and my lack of a full set of ovaries would be a bigger factor!!
Anyway - in more exam stress related news the school have emailed us this morning to say that the Cambridge International syllabus physics paper my son took on Wednesday was leaked to the internet ahead of the exam so no papers will be being marked. Grades will be estimated. Does this affect any of the other kids? All that hard work done for that paper, wasted. This exam season is turning into a farce.

I went through menopause quite young (started peri around 40 and done and dusted by 46) and it took repeated visits to the GP to get them to accept it was menopause - they had to investigate any other cause of random, erratic and heavy bleeding first. Bizarre though that with you going through a hysterectomy that they wouldn't accept that @Polkadotdash it's a very well known cause of menopause, even if they preserve both ovaries!! 🤦‍♀️
on the b12 thing, have you been diagnosed with b12 deficiency? If so, you should be getting regular injections from the GP (and ideally being investigated for coeliac disease too). Unless you are vegan, or have some digestive issues which can cause absorption issues, they should assume it's a lifelong thing and prescribe injections.

Sounds like a stressful exam period!

Like @MJalltheway i was fairly young for the menopause. Started Peru at 42 and it was all over bar the hot flushes before 50. I was given HRT without a struggle but actually only lasted a few months on it as it made me feel worse and brought my periods back. My GP the time offered no alternatives so I toughed it out. I had always had problems with hormonal contraception so it didn’t come as a huge shock that HRT wasn’t for me. I was lucky that for me the menopause wasn’t too bad.

Coeliac disease is a good call. I had similar symptoms to what you’re experiencing @Polkadotdash but the inability to lose weight I’d forgotten. Worth a test at least.

@Jins I hope the holiday was fabulous

I am feeling a bit smug - I got up, walked to the gym (30 min walk) and am now sat in a cafe having had a calorie counted protein smoothie waiting for M&S to open before walking back. I have pink flowers and twittery birds all around.

@MJalltheway thank you for the Hevy recommendation, v helpful for my breaks between sets (I tend to rush). First time back after my virus and it was hard going today. Didn’t eat before hand so I think if I do the same again I need to as felt a bit lightheaded/dizzy a few times.

enjoy the sunshine all

Hi everyone, happy bank holiday weekend, isn’t it glorious!!
I haven’t jabbed for over 2 weeks, keep forgetting, it’s been a few days of eating and drinking for various reasons so I need to jab later on and get back on track. I’ve not weighed but had a day trip to Paris with work ( not in anyway glamorous, 3am start, home at 10pm
and the inside of an office was all I saw, I ate carbs all day and can really feel it, they weren’t even nice but I had nothing else and was hungry.)
sorry to hear about all the meno/ HRT issues. Like others I had an early menopause following a lifetime of gynae issues, I started at 40 and was done by 47, didn’t realise at the time that the moods, and brain fog was related. I’ve been on HRT for 4 years, recently moved to patches and had my 4th post menopause bleed in as many years so more scans and a hysteroscopy, I think probably a cyst or polyp again and I may be looking at the hysterectomy route too.
I agree with everyone else @Polkadotdashget yourself sorted and then worry about weight, I know it’s easy to say but it sounds like things are definitely getting in the way and you’re having a bloody tough time.
hope the holiday was fab Jins and that you ate your body weight in Turkish delight!
sorry to hear about exam and teen stress, it’s such a lot for them to go through without dramas like papers being leaked, poor kids. We’ve just had exams for a level mock grades for uni and they were stressful enough. Hope they can at least have a bit of a break during half term.
Right, I’m supposed to be gardening so back to it to burn off some of those calories!!!
have a lovely Sunday all

I darent weigh myself. I think I have put on about four or five pounds!

Back from holiday and just ate dreadfully the whole time. Cake, cake and more cake.

Gave myself 7mg instead of 5 last night, and will up it again next weekend if it doesn’t have desired effects.

Out to a fancy party tonight and it’s so nice not having to worry about what to wear/how fat will I look.

Bloody gorgeous this heatwave, not quite as immune to the heat as last year but it’s nice to sit outside in the garden in the shade. We’ve been out for a family brunch and I walked the 30min there with DS2, while DH drove DM and DS1; and then back up the hill by myself to pick up some shopping.

Official weekly weigh in this morning and I’m back over 59kg, so am sticking with the 2.5mg for another week. I’m feeling good though, I was super productive yesterday - out the door by 8am (which is v early for me on a Saturday) walking around for a bakery visit and errands with DH, was like a sneaky date! Marinated some chicken breasts in lime & coriander for dinner (they were so delicious will do again); then after the gym found more M&S chicken breasts on special and poached those for a cold noodle salad for later in the week. So have done a little bit of batch cooking to take the pressure off later in the week.

Happy gardening @26inprogress ours has got so out of hand that we’ve got a gardener coming to blitz the lot tomorrow. At least will be nice for the boys for half-term, not that they will sit in it.

Enjoy the party and feeling confident in your skin @Zempy

Every right to feel smug @myladyjane it’s the best feeling being out and about early while the sun is shining but before it gets too hot and busy.

@MJalltheway I was on b12 injections every 3 months until my hysterectomy. Then they decided that I should be ok and wouldn’t need them anymore. So for my recent blood test, they didn’t check it. I can tell it will be low as I know what that feels like. I can’t be bothered going round the loop of another blood test and then asking for a b12 jab. For £30 I can solve it myself. And I’m vegetarian. So there’s probably a link. One GP once suggested to me ‘have you considered eating meat?’ I get beyond fed up of that conversation!
I’ve also been tested for coeliac before as well and that came back clear.
The heavy periods were judged to be the cause of all my deficiencies previously but obviously I’m no longer having periods since the old uterus is gone. I dunno. I just guess I’m old, fat and knackered is the cause of it all 🤪

You’re definitely not getting top class treatment from your GP @Polkadotdash and it’s incredibly frustrating for you. I’ve been in a similar situation in the past and changed to a different practice but it’s a risky move as you could end up worse off. I think pushing for HRT is the thing to focus on. My practice uses PATCHS and I’ve found that useful to get a list of symptoms across.

Back to normal eating again and the scales are moving downwards so hopefully when we fly to Crete in 3 weeks I’ll be back at baseline weight ready to do it all again. At least I now have a tool to help reverse holiday greed.

DH is out most of the day and I’ve got a bit of pottering that I need to attend to so I’ll mostly be doing that.

I went out last night and drank way too much alcohol. I rarely drink and don’t cope well with the resultant hangover.

Got about four hours sleep then woke feeling sick.

I have had five mugs of tea now and feeling slightly better. Weighed in at 8 stone 3 so I would like to lose a couple of pounds before my next holiday in four weeks.

Alcohol really is horrible! 😡

Just one glass and my watch is screaming about how badly I slept. I am very much limiting any drinking to social occasions only. A waste really as we live in a wine region and have a reasonable collection. But still, really can't stand hangovers any more.

Well I just had a rum and coke…..

to be fair to me, I very rarely drink and my mum bought me some rum back from holiday. I did an hours swim in the lake (glorious) and it was treat. But genuinely I am not fussed and can barely finish it.

Oh @Zempy! you poor thing. A hangover in this heat will be brutal.
Woke up this morning to find freezer had packed in over night. What joy! Most of the stuff I’ve had to bin. Neighbour has put the remaining stuff in her freezer for now. We’ve spent the day searching for cheap second hand freezers on facebook marketplace (my god people want a lot of money for an old freezer. I even saw one that was described as ‘not freezing’ that someone wanted £20 for 🫣). Anyway drove to get one for £30 and husband got lost and we drove in a restricted zone. So we can look forward to some sort of driving penalty now. I cried all the way home.
Is it mean of me to say that I really want the weather to ease off? 25 degrees is absolutely enough.

Oh that’s so annoying @Polkadotdash.

Take it easy now. I haven’t even attempted to leave the house today.

Where do these people get their pricing from?

Far too hot for me at 32 degrees 🥵. I’m feeling quite grumpy actually, I cancelled golf - too hot, cancelled Pilates, too hot. Sat under an umbrella in the garden - too hot, too hot for anything for me. I’ve had a sloth like day, had so many plans too ahead of a really busy week. My clean laundry pile is 3ft high, I must do something with it.

The only positive is that I have no appetite in the heat.

hope you don't kick me out of the thread now but I like the heat..we do have AC though so can make it as cold as I want indoors.

Had a productive Vinted weekend, dropped off a whole load of packages. Opposite experience as seller of course, people sending totally ridiculous offers for good quality new or barely used items. Come on, if you see I have 100 people liking the item in 1 hour, you really think I will accept your 80% discount offer??