Any menopausal fatties out there?

[LewisCarroll]

I have been slim all my life and then the menopause hit me and my waistline.

I really don't know how much I weigh, I last weighed myself a while back and I was 11 stone. I need to lose around two stone to get back to being me. I will be brave and weigh myself later on.

Motivation is going to be a massive problem for me so I hope that there are other menopausal fatties out there to keep me company.

[Blobby10]

My boyfriend loves Indian takeaways - I'm not too fussed but enjoy the flavours of the non spicy dishes. Unfortunately these all seem to be cream and nut based!

Any suggestions what dishes to go for which are lower in fat and calories? I don't have rice, wolf down the poppadums and have a small bit of naan!

[teta]

Can I join in?
I'm menopausal ,on Hrt and fit the criteria I think!
I've been following the fast 800 diet for a few weeks and l have lost about 1.5 stone, but still have lots more to lose.
Like many of you I put on a massive amount of weight in the first month of Hrt and have been dieting ever since . My stomach is going down gradually and I'm upping my exercise as I'm becoming acclimatised to no breakfast ( the 16/8 time restriction).
This thread is so LOL to read and very entertaining.
Blobby10 I believe Tandoori meat/fish are lower in calories tomato based curries rather then the creamy nutty ones . I have my curries now with Cauliflower Rice ,so a little fat is allowed. I think Prawns/ Chicken are also lower in calories than lamb or beef.

[Bringonspring]

Welcome teta! A stone and a half is great going!

I’ve now got half a stone and really pleased!

[Pywife2]

Thanks Nicelegs, I have been eating more healthily since the afternoon tea, I didn't do that thing where you go 'Oh it's all a waste of time now!' and you just give up. I do find your words encouraging and I'm determined to persevere.

Hope you're fully recovered from your unpleasant episode, that doesn't sound very nice at all and it does sound like something hormonal.

The good thing about the menopause has been no more periods, I find it amazing how quickly I forgot all about them after they stopped. I was sorry to see we scared one person off with our experiences, if she's still lurking I just want to say it's not all bad! Everyone's experience is different and some women get off lightly, I feel like I'm one of them!

[FatandSassy]

Me. ☹️ totally peri and suffering massively. Spotty, hot flushes, night sweats. So bloody tired all the time.
And FAT! I'm 20st. Hovering around there for the past year. Managed to lose a st since January, don't know how, figure it's just because that was Christmas food weight. I'm 5'7" and heavily built, but still, is much rather be down to 14st like when I was my slimmest 16 years ago!
Trying to control food etc with my BF as he needs to lose weight too. So porridge every morning and healthy salad based lunches, meat free for the most part and lots of fruit and veg; were both averaging around 5000 steps a day this week - that's a lot more than either of us we're doing previously. Will see if it has had any effect on Monday.
So bloody fat and miserable though ☹️

[teta]

Thank for the welcome @Bringonspring.
I seem to have come to a total standstill this week in terms of losing weight even though I've been following my diet still. Normally lose about two pounds a week .
@FatandSassy it sounds like you are doing all the right things - good luck. I find exercise helps enormously with stress.
I had awful periods @Pywife2 and you're so right. I don't miss them. I think Menopause can be a force for change and a time to take stock - a positive thing! However the symptoms can be bloody annoying .

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

You know what? Having had a think about it, I'm not 100% sure that I'm eligible for this thread. I have a Mirena coil, hence no periods. So ..... I don't really know whether I genuinely am in the M phase I'm definitely having some mild symptoms and I am 52 so I think I'm OK. Anyway, I'm loving the thread and all you MFs so I'm staying

So..... two Indian meals this week. I stuck to the plan though and had a small portion of chicken/lamb tikka, a vegetable side dish (with no paneer: I bloody love paneer ) and a roti bread instead of naan. The eating out will have taken its toll but I'm all back on track for a quiet weekend and any extra 'dinner weight' should fall off fairly quickly.

What are your challenges this weekend and is there any support that the group can offer to keep you focused?

Have a grand weekend everyone. I'll be sure to check in with a progress report and probably a request for a bit of support over the weekend.

Speak soon

[FatandSassy]

Thanks @teta . May be doing all the right things but the scales don't show anything different at the moment. We're going to start 5:2 next week as well to hopefully kickstart my sloooooow metabolism.
I'm really struggling coming to terms with not having any more babies. I'm only 37 and I totally wanted another one - my bf doesn't (!) and I've had 6 so it's not like I'm not fulfilled.. I just have that feeling, my biological clock has totally stopped ticking but... some days it's a lot to take in and then I want to eat and not stop. But I can't as my bf has health problems related to his weight so I'm totally being good but still... it's so hard. I hate being fat but I do rather like not having to dress up for people anymore

[Milliy]

I had a ok menopause really. No HRT. Took St. John's Wort tincture. Cut out dairy (oestrogenic ) and cleaned up my diet a little by eating more fruit and veg and less processed food. This reduced my hot flushes to almost nothing. I didn't gain weight because of the menopause but rather the biscuits I had taken to munching. So cleaning up diet helped me to lose some . I still avoid dairy but don't diet as they only make me binge. Ive recently started walking a mile a day and lifting light weights and this has resulted in a half stone weight loss. It also has got rid of all aches joints and stiffness which I thought was me getting old. I can move again and have much more energy and sleep well now. I tend to eat intuitively and follow my hunger signals as that works for me.

[SheeshazAZ09]

I could have written OP's post myself. I've been slim all my life and could eat what I liked until I hit 50 and menopause and turned into a fattie. I am now cutting out breakfast, all desserts except a bit of fruit, and chocolate. Cutting down on dairy seems to help too but I'm veggie so have to get some protein and good whole fats another waydhal and coconut oil might be the answer. What is most difficult is the constant feeling of hunger. But it doesn't seem to make me any slimmer! Not sure how this happened as my mother did not have this problem at menopause but ate far more fattening stuff than I do.

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

Hi MFs,

Just checking into see how we're all doing and whether our menopausal waistlines are shrinking just a little bit?

It's been a few days since I checked in as I've been preparing the staffing plan for the team at work. One of our finance assistants has moved on and our finance officer wants to reduce her hours so ..... I need some more staff

The weekend was pretty good. No crap consumed: plenty of lean protein, fruit and veg. I also did a full weight training sesh on Sunday.

I'm seeing my trainer tonight who will push me hard, which is what I pay him for I've hot lentil dhal and salad for lunch, followed by Greek youghurt. And a banana pre-training (sits nicely on my stomach).

I may not make Weight Watchers on Wednesday due to work but will weigh at home if I can't get to class. I'm pushing really hard for those final few pounds to come off so that I can open, try on and enjoy my Christmas presents. I will not open them until I hit target.

Good luck to all on the journey. Let us know how it's going.

Speak soon.

[FatandSassy]

Morning legs.
We've just started fasting so hoping that will lose some inches. Good luck!

[Riddleofthesands]

Morning, I weighed and I am the same weight as when I joined the thread on 1st June. I did lose 4 lbs or so but put it back on again. Healthy BMI but small boned and definitely need to lose a stone, all clothes too tight. Trying again as of today.

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

Hey @FatandSassy Can you tell us something about your fasting plan? It would be really good to know how you approach it and how easy you find it.

@Riddleofthesands Great to be back on track. It'll come off this time for sure.

[Pywife2]

Hi all I had a weigh in this morning and I am still going down, very slowly (like a balloon), but I've noticed a definite pattern. Weight loss in the week, weight gain at the weekend! As long as it carries on in the right direction, I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

[FatandSassy]

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace it's just the 5:2 one. There's a thread on mumsnet about it - we started on Monday and it was ok, today is our second fast and then we're going to do another on Friday so essentially 4:3.

A fast day is where you eat around 600 calories (and drink loads of water if you're me!) for the entire day, and a normal day is just your normal eating. It's supposed to have lots of health benefits, not least is the weight loss. I'm so slow at losing weight anyway that I thought it might be a healthy kickstart to the system. I'd link the thread but I don't know how

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

Good morning MFs and a very happy Monday to you all,

It's been a few days, hasn't it? I think that Saturday's sizzler got to me a little and I didn't get round to checking in.

Well, coupled with the glorious weather, I managed to have a very good weekend. What I did forget to do though was to weigh in on Wednesday. As we're into a new week, I'll just do it this Wednesday now.

The warm weather has given me the chance to cut down slightly on the food and increase the water intake, which is all good. Progress is steady but things are definitely moving in the right direction.

On the M front, I think that I have my period. Hard to tell as I use a Mirena coil but I have very mild stomach cramps and there are other signs . Not sure where that leaves me on the menopausal scale but I'm definitely on the scale somewhere: this isn't a monthly cycle anymore.

Anyway, how's everyone else doing? Please share your updates, questions, news and everything.

Have a great day

[GenuineKlatchianPottery]

I’ve not updated for a while. My weight has been up and down the last few weeks, lose 2lb then gain 1 back
But, I’ve weighed myself this morning and I’m now 13 stone, so that’s a whole stone down since I joined last month.
3 more to go, I’m really hoping to see the year out back at a healthy weight.
We cheated last night and had fish and chips for the first time in 18 months. Couldn’t finish my portion, but damn it was bloody delicious

[WeeWeed]

I'm back! The weight loss stalled again and I gave up for a while.

Started 5:2 on Monday and couldn't wait any longer to weigh myself as I could feel a huge difference around my middle, which seldom is first to go. 7lbs down. I don't know what the average loss is with this diet, I'm assuming I shouldn't expect that every week.

[IamMummyhearmeROAR]

I’m on holiday so no idea what my weight is doing. I’d lost 8lbs before I came away which put me back in the healthy range but with still at least 10lbs to go. I don’t snack at all on holiday but I drink alcohol every day and am too fond of Croatian bread at meal times so it won’t be good. I swim every day so that’s ok then.

[babbi]

I only weigh 7st 5 and am a size 6 but my god it is so hard to get myself toned ..
I’m tiny but my shape is not great 😬

Hoping someone can suggest suitable work out options for someone like me - early 50s and still having a period every month ...?!?

Particularly abs and tummy work out - anyone ?

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

Hi MFs,

So glad that you're still around and that the thread is going strong.

@GenuineKlatchianPottery Absolutely fantastic. Please do share your tips and tricks. Nothing wrong with the occasional treat; glad that the fish and chips went down well

@WeWeed That's a great start. Don't worry if it's not a 7lb loss every week. Off is off and every little is a step towards your target.

@IamMummyhearmeROAR No snacking means a little extra space for a drink or two. Enjoy the holiday and yes, the swimming will certainly help.

@babbi I'm like you in that I think I still have periods; I'm pretty sure I do actually but my Mirena coil makes it that bit more difficult to tell I'm not in bad shape but it can always be better and my abs are the area where I'd really like to see an improvement too. My trainer is fond of walking lunges (with weights as you get more proficient). He's a national champion bodybuilder and is ripped to fucking shreds so he does know what he's on with. And he's well into his 40s too so he really has to put the work in just like us.

I did a gym sesh today and braved the Boditrax machine (which measures everything). My weight is down slightly — need to work a bit more on that as I have around 5kg to lose to get me to 'stage weight' (I want to do a bodybuilding competition next year too).

My body fat is down and is under 20% which I'm pleased with. That'll need to come down a lot more if I'm to compete but it's good for now.

Also Boditrax put my 'metabolic age' at 37. As I'm 52 I'm delighted. Personally, I think that Bodtrax is just a bit of a smoothie but I'm assured that's not the case

So, I'm all set for the week ahead and my frame of mind is great.

Wishing all of you a fabulous week and let's catch up soon

[babbi]

Wow Nice legs - very well done you !
That’s amazing 😀
Good luck for the week ahead .
I’ll have a crack at those lunges then ......

Thanks very much

[NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace]

Thanks @babbi My trainer is also a fan of 'the plank' for targeting the abs. He tends to shy away from any traditional 'crunching' type exercises as he doesn't believe them to be super effective. I think that different professionals have different views — as indeed you'd expect — but he's been in the business years and competes himself so ..... I do listen to him.

It's actually hard for me to assess my abs at the minute as the 5kg that I need to lose is pretty much sitting on my abs. So I probably have pretty decent muscle there but ..... it's covered in a layer of chub at the minute

Give me a couple of weeks —maybe three —and I'll have a better idea.

Keep us updated. This thread is really helping me with all aspects of the menopause

[Magnificentbeast]

I'm glad I found this thread!

I am a Big M Fattie! I went through an early menopause in my mid to late 30s. I'm 45 now. The stealth weight gain has been quite alarming! I would really love to shift some of it. Not least because thinking about it is taking up far too much of my headspace and life is busy enough.

I have done a couple of days of 16:8 and found it to be effective. I read that 14:10 or even 12:12 can be better for women. I can't remember why. I do the fasting when I can fit it into my life. I do feel better for it. There's something quite satisfying about feeling hungry and ready to eat rather than grazing or just deciding I'm hungry because of the time on the clock. Sometimes I don't sit down to dinner until 9ish after sorting the kids out.

Frustratingly I'm a lot more careful with what I eat now. If I had eaten this way when I was younger I would've maintained a more comfortable weight. I have quite a small frame so carrying any extra weight really doesn't suit me. I'm only 5ft 1 and heading for 12 stone if I'm not careful

I know I need to get back to some proper exercising and have intentions to start the C25K again but my menopausal knees and joints keep putting me off! I have just started on HRT patches in the hope that they will help with the creaking joints.