How are you meant to loose weight at 40 with health issues and peri menopause not to mention no time and stressful life

[user1478639495]

I have all this information being thrown in my face about losing weight 40 and over. The fact is nothing is working for me. Last September I started going to the gym regularly 3 times a week cardio the last few months I got the courage to go to the weight section and lift weights, not much granted but I got up to lifting 5kg (all arms too self conscious to try anything else yet) I did loose about a stone in the time but nothing mega you CloudKit see this stone loose looking at em I still have huge thighs with stubborn fat that hasn’t moved for probably 20 years no matter what I do I can’t shift anymore and haven’t been able to for months a months. I read that if you do too much cardio it can go against you something to do with the stress spiking the cortisol meaning it holds onto belly fat 🤷‍♀️ don’t eat enough it holds onto it, u mean seriously eat in a deficit move more and loose weight right? Well apparently not. I’m so frustrated I try so bloody hard I want to do some cardio to get the stress out I can do more weights but so self conscious it’s unreal.

i don’t think I can do the fat loss jabs due to health reasons but from what I see they basically make you eat less so how come when I fast and eat less possibly the same as what someone on the jabs would eat they can loose and look great and I can’t loose anything? What am I doing so wrong!?!?! Someone help me out tell me what you done if you managed to loose a tone of weight and was in my situation.

summary/health issues
hypothyroidism
40 got to be peri menopausal
very stressful home life with kids currently
zero time do anything so only have about 30 mins to gym 3 times a week can do more if I get up at 5am but not doing that as bloody knackered but will if it needs to be done
confidence on the floor feel gross
very self conscious won’t even go down a personal trainer route as too embarrassed
managed to loose a stone think I’ve since gained it back though, took months and months to loose that weight every tiny piece of progress is incredibly slow

When you say you don't think you want to use Weight Loss Medication due to health reasons, do you mean you have a condition which means you wouldn't medically be allowed to take them, or that you've been put off by the press/social media scaremongering about incredibly rare risks associated with using them?

Are you significantly overweight? What is it about being overweight means that you are too embarrassed to try a personal trainer? Although having said that, weight loss is mainly diet rather than exercise. If you’re finding it hard to find time to exercise I’d concentrate on diet first.

Are you getting treatment for the hypothyroidism? Could you review your medication if you are gaining weight or finding it hard to lose weight?

Watch your calories.

Weight loss is 90% diet for most people, but possibly not you.

You have hypothyroidism which means your body doesn’t use fuel normally because you don’t make enough metabolism controlling hormones. If it’s not controlled this could absolutely mean you don’t lose weight when others would.

Is your hypothyroidism well managed?

Calorie count.

get yourself over to the fitness chef and into a calorie deficit

Because of my health, it says if you have hypothyroidism if anyone in your family had thyroid cancer you can’t have it, my dads brother died of throat cancer years ago but I was young so not sure if that could of been thyroid cancer or not, dad has the same thyroid issues as me so don’t want to risk it before checking it out completely not even sure how I’d go about finding that out as I don’t think dad will remember the details now. I also have another health issue which I’m currently taking steroids for hopefully will be off them very soon 🤞 so again it sure with that health issue if I can have the jabs or not. If I didn’t have any of these issues I think by now I would have gone for it becksse this is just torture, trying so hard and nothing happening, year after year I tell myself next year I’ll be a healthy size but no each year I look and I’m exactly the same, so depressing.

are you on them? How do you find them?

solidarity. It’s a bastard.
nobody gets it (well some on here do). So many people just assume that we’re all secretly bingeing Greggs

I have my bloods done every eyes and they tell me it’s all in healthy range with the tablets for the thyroid so I can only trust that they are correct and it’s being controlled ok.

I have just got a calorie app to try that again, I did do fasting a few months back found it ok but nothing happened, that would of put me in a deficit 🤷‍♀️

You might need professionel help.

I use wegovy and it’s slow, a lot slower than many but it’s the only thing that works at all for me. I eat three small meals a day and lose weight whereas I can’t lose no matter how little I eat without the injections. It’s calmed down some weird stomach issues I was having for some reason too. I don’t know why and I haven’t bothered to ask a dr as I doubt they will know either.

no one really knows how all this stuff works but I can tell you it’s not just calories in - calories out.

The reason people taking them lose weight and you fasting isn’t helping you lost weight is probably because the jabs allow you to eat reduced calories with very little effort or hunger for an indefinite amount of time. IN GENERAL. There will be outliers of course, people who can control their weight by fasting and those who don’t feel those benefits of WLI.
Ive been on them approaching 2 years now and they’ve changed and improved my life immeasurably. Other than some hair loss (I had a lot to begin with and still have a lot now) and 2 sulphur burps, some constipation to begin with, I’ve been absolutely fine. Oh, I do feel the cold more too. Very grateful to have been able to take them, my insulin resistant PCOS wasn’t going to disappear after 25 years all by itself.

weight loss is really hard when you get to peri / menopause
get expert advise about your health and suitability for the weight loss jabs as they can be an absolute game changer -
otherwise it’s the tough road of calorie counting everything - regular exercise and living with hunger

How much do you want to lose? I’m definitely finding it harder now I’m In perimenopause

Also you don’t need to be constantly hungry. That is ridiculous

Don’t do fasting. Work out your calorie goals using the app or Cronometer which is good for tracking

Then log every single thing you eat and drink and hit your calorie and protein goals

It will work, even if it it takes time

You can order his death certificate from the GRO. Upsetting obviously, or ask your GP what they do in cases like this when someone needs health information on a deceased relative.

It is really hard in menopause. Really hard!

Lift heavy weights - muscle is more metabolically active than fat and you will strengthen your bones.

Eat way more protein than you think you need - around a gram per pound of ideal body weight daily.

Track your calories. don’t go unrealistically low. You’ll have no energy for exercise or for life.

Prioritise sleep as much as you possibly can.

OK , can I as a woman who was so over weight and kidding herself, got caught in a style, say making excuses ?

Gym will do nowt for weight loss , you can not exercise out a shit diet

If you need help and support with getting a good diet, and believe me, I would never had said these words - try ~Slimming world

Your GP can refer FOC for a few weeks

And SW isnt rocket science, its learning how to eat as clean and healthy as you can - fuck the oven chips ( totally laden in fats, so cut your own )

Get the food under control, the exercise will come

Im now going to the gym, not for weight loss, indeed Ive gained 2lb., which for me , previously being obese , isnt easy . but I know its water and muscle and will sort itself out

For me, I did use mounjaro. Even fasting and apparently eating less I clearly wasn't. Mounjaro worked for me as it works for many others. It's a game changer. I also have a PT. Exercise has not made me lose weight but it has changed my body and made me stronger. That's it. Willpower is over rated. If it worked we wouldn't need the jabs.

After a year of no periods at the age of 51 my weight started to creep up and my clothes weren’t fitting me anymore, I was gutted. I have M.S and it’s impossible for me to rely on exercise to keep the weight off, I can’t Everyman anymore. I decided to try the intermittent fasting regime and it has worked brilliantly. I’ve lost the 1.5 stone I gained and am back at a weight that I haven’t seen for many years.

I find it easy to follow, I look forward to my overnight oats in the morning, my favourite meal. I only wish I hadn’t donated some of my favourite jeans and dresses to charity, they’d fit me now 🤦‍♀️

If I could exercise regularly I’d be in a much better position but that’s impossible. So the fasting is working for me and I’m happy with that, 🤩

I did Joe wicks body coach at 42 years for 6 weeks and lost 5lbs but it was hard exercising 4-5 times a week and calorie counting on myfitnesspal app and doing an 11-12hr day at work incl a 2-3hr commute 5 days a week, I was exhausted. I had previously tried intermittent fasting, I actually gained weight on that. Heard its bad for middle aged women and above because of it causing stress on body and increasing cortisol which ends up leading to increased fat stores.
I then tried mounjaro and its best thing u did because I was prediabetic, high BP and cholesterol and fatty liver disease starting at bmi 32.8. I'm now bmi 22 after losing 4st 5lbs and was calorie and macro counting on free version of myfitnesspal app alongside, with no exercise.
The best advice is to lower your carbs and increase protein and water and it made it a lot easier to lose weight that way. I lost 1lb a week every week for 14 months.

The weight loss injections are a game changer but you have to ask your doctor about them

My father had graves disease and my mother had throat cancer
I've been on Wegovy 8 months now and I haven't had any issues

They've been incredible for me and I've lost 6.5 stone. I'm mid 50s in menopause. As pp have said, check with your doctor, you may be ok for one of them (I'm using mounjaro but wegovy is the other option).

Also now you've mentioned it, if you're taking steroids, presumably prednisone, that is going to be impacting everything appetite and weight related, surely. They're a nightmare for that!

As others have said, you can’t out-exercise your diet.

If, instead of an hour at the gym, you meal
prepped five meals that were high in protein and fibre and calorie controlled (not crazy low, but weighed out and cooked with care eg not frying everything) then that would be a more productive use of time.

I don’t know about hyperthyroidism and the jabs but would echo talking to your GP not Dr Google on what can be done.