Diet for someone who has never needed one!

[Bobsledgirl]

Been slim my whole life but I hit 50 and have slowly gained weight. Put in 2 stone in last 3 years. I’m not eating more particularly or moving less. I am taking hrt so maybe that’s significant?

I'm 5ft 8 and almost 11 stone. Weight just keeps creeping up and all seems to be on my belly area. Arms and legs etc are the same! Gone from a size 10/12 to a 14 I need to lose a stone.

I do weight training twice a week, a yoga class and a spin class. I walk my dogs every day. I’m therefore not fully sedentary. It has to be calories in then? More in than out?

I don’t drink much or eat fast food. I have a reasonably healthy diet I think but it’s probably carb heavy.

Going to try calorie counting to see where it gets me. Bound to be a struggle as I love my food.

Wondered if these weight increase on hrt /post meno was common and how easy is it to shift? Any advice?

It sounds like you're doing everything right. Run what you eat through My Fitness Pal for a week and see what happens.

Good idea. Thank you.

I think belly fat in 40s/50s is really common. Often linked to low oestrogen, high cortisol, poorer sugar control. I think limiting sugar and foods with lots flour and starchy carbs is key as well as lowering stress. Focusing on strength training rather than cardio is good to lower cortisol and also becuase we loose a lot of muscle which acts as a glucose store.

I would look at diet recomposition rather than calorie counting - replace starchy carbs with healthy fats and protein.

Following a formal diet plan/calorie counting/IF could set you on a spiral of yo-yo dieting – this board is awash with women on that dieting treadmill who wish they'd never started dieting in the first place. I'm also bracing for the Ozempic/Wegovy ticking timebomb when everyone piles the weight back on once they stop injecting. I suggest seeing your GP first to rule out any underlying issue like underactive thyroid, any deficiencies etc. HRT does cause weight gain but your body might stablise once you're through it. Also check portion size. Over 50 we need a heck of a lot less food but generally people still eat the same size portions as they did in their 20s/30s. Meanwhile servings in restaurants etc just get bigger.

Also, for context, 11 stone is a very healthy weight for 5ft 8! I would kill to be that size. I'm 5ft 8.5 and currently weigh 15 stone - a lifetime of yo-yo dieting has gone me to this miserable point, as has HRT.

If you're genuinely not eating any more (and in our 50s we tend to need less anyway), I would echo previous posters to look at the make up of what you're eating and swap out complex carbs for more protein and veg

Thanks. I do snack more than I should and have a sweet tooth. Plus I like carbs. Going to cut back on the sweet treats. I’m annoyed about HRT! I do feel better on it but I’m blaming the weight gain on it.

Just cut the snacking and cut the carb portions.

Think ‘healthier eating’ rather than ‘dieting’.

Have healthy snacks easily available. Allow one between lunch and dinner.

Up the veg / salad portions, increase lower sugar fruit like berries (frozen bags for adding to breakfast, or to plain unsweetened yogurt for dessert)

Swap white bread for wholemeal, only eat as a healthy meal (egg on toast, a slice with veg-rich soup etc) not as snack.

1lb a week is a good weight loss. Don’t aim for more.

Start tracking your calories to determine exactly what you’re eating. I suspect it’s far more than you think.

Work out your TDEE(there are calculators online), work out a modest calorie deficit (250 calories). Ensure you are eating enough protein (1g per pound of body weight). Get to a gym as request a full body workout plan and go lift weights 3-4 times per week.

Do that and you’ll be back to your usual weight within 4-6 months.

Also, don’t do too much cardio. Up your weight training to 4 days (just seen you already do x2 why h is great).

I don't use HRT and have much the same problem.... It's a fine distinction (and probably of little consequence) but I'd blame menopause itself not necessarily the HRT.
The usual advice about calories in v calories out just doesn't work for many after menopause.
I exercise fairly hard - swim and weights. According to the Tanita machine I've put on significant muscle this past year... but I'm also steadily putting on fat. I don't (and don't want to) diet hard but I eat healthily and the input/ weight gain just doesn't add up. Pre menopause I'd be losing a lb a week.

Just don't completely cut out food groups or deny yourself anything or you'll set yourself up to fail.
Moderation is key.

Maybe you need the HRT dose adjusting? Might be worth trying as annoyingly both too much and too little oestrogen can cause fat accumulation.

I think post menopause you just need around 200 fewer calories a day so it you don't change how you eat you get hit with weight gain

And you can end up eating a bit more junk as you feel a little tired and out of sorts ( ie even with easy menopause )

I think @aswarmofmidges is absolutely spot on from my experience.

Your body just needs less calories post menopause but if you don't recognise that you carry on eating as you were before and a slow creep of weight gain is inevitable. I also totally agree that since menopause my sleep is far more disrupted and I turn more to simple carbs when I'm tired.

I don't think I'm atypical nowadays in that in my mid 50s I am still working full time in a high pressured stressful job, still juggling family commitments, both DCs and DParents and time for exercising and healthy eating has to be really carefully carved out otherwise it just doesn't happen.

On a positive note, I made a pledge to myself to really focus on my health in January this year and since then I have lost 1.5 stone. I followed most of the advice upthread, prioritised protein, started weight training 3/4 times a week, kept my daily step count up etc... Ultimately though, as much as it's unfashionable, I counted calories. I did it very slowly, less than a pound a week loss and there have been plenty of blips along the way. I still have half a stone to go to be back firmly in my pre-menopause happy weight zone and I'm not going to lie, I'm finding this last half stone the hardest. I will get there though, it just might take some time...

Good luck with it!

I would try something like 16:8 and 5:2 first then do 6:1 for maintenance. I wouldn't cut carbs as much as Michael Moseley might recommend but eat whole ones as much as possible and try and have some meals with no potatoes, bread, pasta or rice and make sure you are having 80g of protein and try to get 25-30g fibre a day. Basically varying calories, slightly fewer carbs and whole versions when you have them, plenty of fibre and protein.

I find Nutracheck a lot better than MFP- recording your food will help you see where you might be going wrong. Do weight more calorific foods as well as you may be way out on portions or they could have crept up over time.

Make sure you are regularly upping the weights in your training/switch the type of weight exercises you are doing and pushing yourself in spin and yoga classes. Unfortunately fitness levels can fall doing the same thing all the time. I personally find interspersing weights with cardio in one session to be effective in helping weight loss and fitness. I do ten minutes cardio then four types of weights, repeat, then do ten to fifteen minutes of stretching/yoga/callisthenics. This burns off about 450 calories in an hour- for you being a bit lighter than me probably 400 would be a good target.

I have to say though <BMI 24 is pretty good going at age 53! My goal weight is 11 stone aged 48 and 5'7" but I'd be a size ten clothes and about 37" 28" 37" (currently 39" 30" 39 at 12 stone 5, BMI 27). We are all different though, I do appreciate that and belly fat is a concern.

I am a big fan of 'no s' (not a diet in my view!). If you have never dieted I feel like you will have a good mental attitude towards food, and that's really valuable. I'd be careful not to mess that up, and I think no s is nicely un-extreme and keeps you in a good mindset for life.

Some great advice on here. Thank you all.

cutting carbs will be hard!