Menopause onset = 10 lb weight gain in two months. Help!

[knowclue]

Would really appreciate some help/advice/a shoulder to cry on! I am in despair, no clothes fit, dot want dh to see me naked, hate myself like this. I've always yo yo'd weight wise, done everything; ww, SW, 5:2, vlc (did that here on mn with biwi et al), but have never piled the weight on like this. Not on HRT so can't blame that, am a DES daughter anyway. I'm not eating any differently, noticed trousers were feeling a bit tight, hopped on the scales and was shocked.
No health issue indicators, excercise x2-3 a week, eat about 1800 to 2000 a day but not lc. How on earth can I shift this? The weight is gradually creeping up, tried IF for a few days last week, made no change to the scales direction, it's like a switch has been thrown in my body, before meno I could shift the fat, now its refusing to respond at all. Help!

1800-2000 calories a day
is that the right amount for your body.
Work out your TDEE and the answer might become clear.

And please do not expect changes within a week - it takes the body a while to chew up fat

Know I gained ten pounds when going through the menopause. In my experience it is definitely much harder to lose this fat than it was before. I am told that it will be easier again once I am through the menopause. I have however managed to lose 10 pounds in the last year by mindful eating. Very hard though.

Know im going to have a bash at the 14:10 or 16:8 (eating in a ten hour window and fasting for 14 hours) and maybe adding a one day fast of 500 cals if I want to. I will still be doing mindful eating though as I don't want to bring on any disordered eating which I am very prone too.

What Talkin said - 1800 to 2000 calories will be your problem, I imagine. If your weight has gone up and down for years, I think the simple answer is you're taking in too much food.

Unless you're very tall or do an awful lot of exercise (which you don't, from your OP), you'll need fewer calories than that to maintain weight, and fewer still to lose.

As some indication, MFP tells me I maintain weight on 1600 cals a day, and lose on 1200. I'm 5ft 6ins, 9st 7ish.

If I were you I'd download mfp and be honest about everything you eat and drink - then see what it tells you.

Hi knowclue, I'm the same (perimenopausal) and have gone from a UK size 12 to a 16/18!
I'm in the same boat as you desperate to shift the excess weight. Have you seen Davina McCalls 5 weeks to sugar free? I'm building up to giving that a go and I also seen that Iceland are selling slimming world ready meals. A couple of women in work are attending slimming world groups, they love it. They said they have never eaten so much on a diet and lost weight.
Good luck.

Ready meals are not healthy though. This is a time in your life when nutrition comes into its own.

Thanks all for your replies. running loaded MFP, its a bit of a pain weighing food and there are a few guestimates in there, but am beginning to see a pattern.
Bottom line - all of the above are right - I'm eating too many calories. Heavier on the carbs than I realised as well which was a surprise, thought I had toed the lo-carb line pretty well, clearly not!

However, my diet hasn't changed for a few years, so I still think there's some metabolic changes associated with menopause that have accelerated the weight gain (had bloods checked today just to be safe).

MFP put me at 1200 to lose the weight but Ive dropped it to 1000 for a week, I know from experience :( I need that psychological boost seeing the pounds drop off at the start. Fingers crossed!

It is definitely a lot to do with the menopause though and more difficult to lose at this stage than pre or post menopause for a lot of women.

paleoleap.com/paleo-menopause-part-2/

Since you have had a go at low carb, thought you might be interested in this.

Carii Thanks for the link, that's all very interesting!
I agree with much of it, can eat fat with minimal impact, but cakes/chocs/carbs.... on the weight goes.

Carii Thanks for the link, that's all very interesting!
I agree with much of it, can eat fat with minimal impact, but cakes/chocs/carbs.... on the weight goes.

carii
Menopause is just an excuse.
Have a look at bigchocfrenzys pictures to see what a nearly 60 year old looks like who does not allow the bulge to win.

My gym has a decent cohort of ladies well past menopause who have accepted their lower calorific needs to stay at size 8/10

No, its not an excuse. Some women are more fortunate than others with the menopause.

Talkin she looks amazing and should be very proud at 60 to have that muscle tone. Weight bearing exercise does amazing things to the body. I do weights and have my own gym but I still found it harder to lose the 10lbs I put on over two years when menopausal but I did.