So frustrated by how few calories I need in peri-menopause

[BansheeofInisherin]

Just that really. Recently lost 3 kilos with much difficulty and drastically slashing calories. And then put it all back during the Easter hols:( It's just astonishing how little sustenance I need in peri.

I need to lose weight for health reasons- not vanity-so I can't even ignore this.

No tips but massive sympathy. After a lifetime of being able to manage my weight by cutting calories now that just doesn't work, at all. 45 and putting it down to peri.

I hope you find something that works for you.

I'm exactly the same. 47, just started HRT. I can be really good and stick to calorie allowance and be lucky to lose a pound!
This has put me into a yo-yo binge situation.
I stick to calories, feel like im trying really hard, lose nothing. Then feel deflated so binge for days, then panic and start to restrict again. Going round in circles in a panic. I need to get weight off to try and reduce BP.

I've got a peloton and really hoping that will help.

Sympathies. The trickiest part of it is that you do need a lot of nutrients: vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein, and just enough fat to process certain vitamins. This is why fasting tends not to work very well for many of us. I do idly wonder if it’s possible to have a negative calorie requirement…

I am 51 and yo-yo a lot. I met a friend I hadn't seen for over a decade recently, and she said " Banshee, you are putting on weight. And all of it is around your stomach." I wanted to reply "You think?". Felt really bad because I was a size 8 the last time she saw me, now a large size 12. But I eat so much less!

Wow! Hope you had something suitably unhelpful to say about her too!

What a cow!

My sympathies op - I’ve managed to lose almost 2 stone since Christmas but had to resort to 1000-1200 calories a day with a few treats at the weekend and daily exercise tutorial plus walking every day! If I’d done this in my 20’s I’d be a stick by now!

I was just too gobsmacked. I don't think she meant anything by it. Peri-menopause hasn't hit her quite so hard. Anyway, trying to remember that I am pretty healthy, and lucky to live this long.

That's awful 😱
I think to maintain a healthy weight as we age we need to do consistent exercise. I used to be able to manage it with just diet but not anymore.

I've gone hugely off track thanks to family illness/bereavement but have you looked at a YouTuber called Pahla B? It's called fitness for the over 50s or something similar.

Her core belief on calories is that you're probably eating too few - still restricting in the way you could just cut 250 in your 30s and lose three pounds by the weekend. I can't quite remember what you need to do, but it's basically sticking to TDEE and NOT reducing. Apparently that just doesn't work now. You have to stop your body holding onto the weight.

I hear you. I remember when dieting in my youth was refusing the second mars bar of the day. I've managed to lose some weight with Slimming World, but still have a chunk to go, and really resent having to severely restrict treats.

The biggest problem is age related muscle loss. It reduces the size of your ‘engine’ so that you can’t burn as many calories. To add insult to injury, hormone changes mean it can be incredibly difficult to build muscle for exercising, hence you tend to injure yourself by apparently blinking. I wish health professionals were more sympathetic (and realistic) about the challenges of losing weight at this age. Whoever said belly fat was easy to lose didn’t have menopausal women in mind. 😖

I do exercise and I will do more in summer, but I find diet works better. If I cut out rice and bread completely, I lose weight. I just find it hard to do that.

There are more of us over in the “fellow menopausal fatties” thread :)

OP have you considered strength training exercise specifically? Like a PP said, it can increase the amount of calories you need day to day, which in the long run makes managing weight so much easier. It does though require accepting that in the short term, weight will stay the same or go up (while building muscle) and that you need to eat enough while strength training to gain the muscle, which can be hard to do mentally.

I'm mid 40s so appreciate I might have the worst yet to come, but I can now eat considerably more than I did in my thirties. Back then my maintenance would be 1500 a day (I'm short!) Now it's around 2000 average.

Solidarity! Exactly the same thing has just happened to me. It's so tiresome, isn't it.

Thanks @23usrnm I will join the other thread.
Yes I have recently started strength training @Brieandme. Arms are getting a bit more toned though I have started very slow so as not to do myself an injury.
@moggerhanger growing old is not for sissies.

This is me too. I should be getting dressed as I need to go out very soon but it's not so much what to wear which I will feel good in but what to wear which will actually do up and not feel horribly uncomfortable all day.
I managed to lose a whole 5lbs in Jan/Feb through restricting calories and being really focussed on exercise but, as soon as I stopped being so strict, it re-appeared in seconds.

It’s not just about calories, it’s what you are eating. After menopause metabolism changes, more difficult for body to breakdown carbs and sugars. Low carb is the way to go, with good quality fats. Forget bread, pasta, potatoes and rice, these foods are effectively sugar. Carbs increase blood sugar which raises insulin which makes body store fat. I started eating this way and I lost 2 stone im 49. If you are eating more protein and good quality fats ie butter and olive oil, avocados etc you will lose. To burn fat you need to eat more fats and cut the carbohydrates to under 20 g per day.

@BansheeofInisherin slow and steady is the way to go, definitely. I hope you see some benefits from it, having the extra 'allowance' as it were, feels very freeing. Not to mention the other health benefits.

I have added size to my arms and that took a bit of getting used to, but my overall shape is better and most importantly for me, my waist is smaller. I usually carry weight around my middle so that's what I try to be careful of.

@Touty your last comment is pretty restrictive, it's not necessary to go keto and not sustainable for many people.

@Touty genuine question, does all the high fat not increase cholesterol? am trying to reduce what I eat as v addicted to sugar, so carb reduction would make sense but replacing with high fats worries me slightly as my cholesterol needs to be a bit lower ideally.

Yes Keto is restrictive - but I’m talking about a low carb diet, not necessarily keto which is actually a high fat diet (70 per cent fat).

it’s the only thing that’s kept the weight off for me.

Low carb is really hard for me because I am Asian vegetarian and much of our family culture revolves around Asian meals with curries, rice and rotis. Not greasy like in restaurants but definitely carb heavy ( though also veggie heavy). However, I have done my best to slash my rice intake. Eat only a half cup once a day now. And upped the veggies and protein. My mum thinks I am mad giving up rice!

@Touty fair enough, but <20g of carbs is incredibly restrictive, there's 5g of carbs in a carrot!

That's a pretty extreme diet, and if you're not eating high fat at the same time, would be an extremely low calorie diet. Telling other people that that's what has to be done to lose weight is dangerous advice. It might suit you but please don't extrapolate that to everyone

The best way of healthy eating is one that an individual can stick to, not just for a two week crash diet but one that fits into their lifestyle, with whatever family and social commitments come with that.

The other problem is that our bodies are desperately trying to produce oestrogen and the only way that can be done is to create more fat.

I have put on 3 and a half stone since peri menopause. I was exercising 5 times a week, eating healthily and still the weight kept coming.

I went to see a menopause specialist and nearly cried when she said " menopause has hit you hard with weight" as I felt suddenly someone understood.

I have given in and started Ozempic. I think it's the only way I'm going to be able to lose weight because my natural body doesn't want me to. I've lost 7lbs so far and finally I don't have raging hunger all day long.