Piled on so much weight due to menopause

[Fatusername]

I can't use HRT but I'm piling on the weight at half a stone or more a week at the moment. I'm meticulously recording my meals and weighing them:

This is typical

Breakfast: 0% greek yoghurt, apple and cinnamon
Snack: banana
Lunch; pasta and salad
Dinner: Grilled meat, 2 or 3 veg portions and a carb.

My calories are totalling 1400 or less a day.

Where am I going wrong?

A couple of thoughts - one is, how active are you? I'm small and 63, if I was sedentary I think I'd need less than 1400 cals per day by now.

The other question is whether you've had your thyroid levels checked, hypothyroidism is pretty common for women from 50is on.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I'm fairly sedentary due to health issues. The problem I'm finding is I have insatiable hunger. I have tried omeprazole as I thought it was an acid issue, it hasn't helped, I have tried will power but got hangry and headachey. It's really getting me down. I have had my thyroid checked 3 times this year.

I’d be looking to swap your pasta at lunch for protein. If you’re sedentary you just don’t need that many carbs. Carbs are fuel for your body when it needs to do work and if you’re not moving, you don’t need as many carbs as you think.
Are you able to go for a daily walk? Or swim? Activity will help massively.

You need more protein. You have nowhere near enough. It makes a huge difference to how hungry you feel.

Look to have 33g at breakfast. I have 200g of cottage cheese (with chilli, lemon, garlic powder, salt added for flavour) and a piece of whole meal bread plus some salad things (varies). I should also have an egg white but I don't always. Just upping my protein at breakfast has changed my mornings.

Agree it would be an idea to change the balance of your food. Although it's all 'healthy foods' there is quite a lot of carb, bananas are quite sugary.
I've actually found it easier to not have breakfast, just a couple of teas and a milky coffee mid morning - sort-of 16:8.

The only thing that has worked for me is to cut way back on carbs. I suggest you ditch the pasta and replace with something more protein-heavy, like a chicken or tuna salad. Banana is also going to dump a load of sugar into your bloodstream which will be laid down as fat if you don't use it almost straight away as energy. Walking or doing some other exercise (even housework) for 15-20 mins after every meal will give your metabolism a boost. And try and do a 15 minute walk before breakfast, while still fasting. Weight training 3 or 4 times a week will also help significantly. All of these things have made a big difference to my menopausal weight - I've lost about 8kg over the last 6 months and don't feel deprived at all. But I've had to make different choices.

Have you had your blood sugar checked recently?

As we age it's quite common to become more insulin resistant, and feeling extremely hungry can be a sign of T2 diabetes.

I'm piling on the weight at half a stone or more a week

That's quite a lot of weight to gain in a week, particularly when you're only consuming 1400 calories.

Ditch the pasta and carbs. Have more protein and more veg

I have a lot of weight to lose so started keto. It’s been a revelation for me!

I’m 49 and I’d edged into pre-diabetes with my blood sugar - I knew I had to do something.

I cut out rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice, as well as fizzy drinks, biscuits, cake, and chocolate. Basically all the carb-heavy foods and no processed shite.

I stick to 20-30g of carbs per day and if I want something sweet I have dark chocolate or sugar free jelly. I’m never hungry and I have lots of lovely meals. You do have to plan properly but it works. I’ve dropped 30 lbs in 11 weeks (but I’m a proper chunk and have lots to lose 🫣😂).

Different foods with the same calories are processed very differently by my body. Making different choices has been a game-changer for me.

Half a stone a week? You'd need to be eating upwards of 20,000 calories above your body's true needs to be putting on that much weight. I'd get an appointment with the GP as soon as possible to rule out anything else.

Half a stone a week weight gain is physiologically impossible from eating only so please go to the GP as this could be a sign of some underlying illness.

When I hit menopause, my weight became uncontrollable, this impacted my health massively, diebetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea. I tried everything, diet, weightloss meds, nothing worked, in the end I resorted to having a mini gastric bypass, extreme I know, but it worked for me.

Yeah, this. Ignore the eating disorder chatter here and get to the docs, assuming that wasn't a typo!

No. I'm saying i eat that but I am.continuously hungry.

Eat a better breakfast. Whole fat yogurt would be am improvement. 0% fat will not make you feel full any probably it has added sugars.

Could you try 16/8 (intermittent fasting). It works well. I agree- more protein and veg, fewer carbs.

This.

You’re putting on two stone a month? Twenty four stone a year?

Constantly hungry makes every day a struggle when trying to lose weight or even maintain

Have you read anything about Mountjaro?

Plenty on this site under injectable weight loss treatments section

The cost is really offset by the lack of food you'll purchase

Hunger is gone

It's a miracle drug for obesity and all associated health problems

It's the only thing that has changed in my life and health, so yes.