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

You mentioned not losing weight on your legs. Could be you have lipoedema. Mounjaro helped me lose 3 stone but slowly. 14 months. But my lippy legs whilst slimmer are still big in comparison to the rest of me. I’ve just had to accept that’s my body shape. I’d consult your GP about mounjaro or wegovy.

What did fasting look like to you when you did it?

Fasting won’t necessarily result in a calorie deficit if you end up eating big at the meals you do eat.

I was fat for 40 years. Ive lost it all on mounjaro over the last 2 years. Im 64.
I had no side effects and lost 2 pounds a week.
Ive kept it off by giving up UPFs. UPFs keep you fat, wreck your metabolism and make you crave rubbish. I never touch them now, ever.
Everything is home cooked and I make my own bread with organic minimally processed flour.
I find it doable even working full time. I make puddings, too sugar free, like they did in wartime.
Its not exactly difficult on the meat and two veg routine and plenty of vegetarian options too.
I don't count calories. I just stop eating when Im full.

Have you considered using an online fitness and nutrition coach? I was following several different ones last year and then finally took a leap of faith to sign up with one. My confidence was on the floor, I was so fed up of being overweight (technically obese), and I definitely didn't want to medicate as I was already fed up of taking multiple different pills for my arthritis.

I was a bit sceptical but felt it was worth a try for six weeks. I thought I already knew all the theory - which I sort of did but wasn't applying it correctly. Once I started tracking calories properly I could see exactly how they were adding up during the day, and how little fruit & veg I was actually eating compared to what I thought I was.

But the biggest thing for me was what an emotional roller coaster my whole life was at that time, and how much calmer and more balanced I feel now. Using a coach who takes the time to understand where the difficulties in my life are and suggests small, workable adjustments so that I can keep making forward progress, however slow, and who is endlessly encouraging, has been utterly invaluable.

The only thing that I haven't yet done, but I know will accelerate my progress, is to add in some regular weight training sessions. And that's the bit that you're already doing.

I totally agree you can’t out exercise a bad diet, but for those of us who aren’t limited by health problems, lifting weights is such a good thing in menopause. I feel like a different person. So I really recommend it along with plenty of protein - but for me, calorie counting is key to weight loss/maintenance. As I already have osteopenia I am really focused on bone strength. I didn’t mean to imply in my previous post that exercise is the only thing you need to be a healthy weight in menopause.

I did the NHS approach of around 10% calorie deficit. Started swiming and spin classes. When that plateaud, I did Fast 800 (I would not recommend as you lose muscle mass - but maybe 1 - 2 fasting days). I then upped the ante in the weights section. If you lifting 5k you are ready to go heavier. Get a PT and track your nutrition in an app. I dropped significant body fat through progressive overload. Huge transformation, probably took about a year in total.

Thanks everyone for your replies super helpful, it’s been a few day so just reply generally instead of individually. So I need to loose between 3-4 stone, did wonder about that condition in regards to fat on my legs but I don’t think it is I think it’s just where I’m so fat it like to store more on my legs and tummy.

I’ve been having some time to think and it’s funny, looking back at pictures every single summer I think next year I will be healthy and slim I won’t have this constant feeling of being uncomfortable in my own skin feeling unconfident and this has happened consecutively every year for the past few years, so I can see for. The pictures there’s no change, as said I’ve done fasting, healthy eating, the gym regularly nothings working it’s not like I haven’t given it a good bash so I think perhaps I do need some help from the weight loss meds. I’ve done a quick online form says I’m ok to go ahead but does seem very easy to get so still going to get more checks because of my current meds and health issues wouldn’t want to make any of that worse. I’m thinking the wegivy tablet rather than the injections, but the things is where do you get this stuff from? There’s so many places I want to make sure I’m making the best safest choice for me, and to have a clincian on hand if needed. So far I’ve only looked at boots I do need to do more research but would love to know where you all get yours from

I know two women who had to take steroids for medical conditions for a period of time, and they both gained significant weight while on them. Once they were able to come off (because they got their underlying medical condition controlled with the right medication), they were able to lose the weight. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

If you come over to the specific weight loss topic section, you'll find loads of information and people asking similar things to you. And starter threads for each month with people comparing experiences.

There are price comparison websites for each of the different types (Mounjaro & wegovy jabs, wegovy pills and maybe even foundayo pills too now, not sure)

monj.co.uk is for mounjaro
igovy.co.uk is for wegovy
ogovy.co.uk is for wegovy pills

All the pharmacies listed are GpHC registered, so legitimate and safe. In general Boots isn't the most competitive on price.

I get my mounjaro in person from a local independent pharmacy because I have issues with deliveries reliably getting to my house. Again, not the cheapest but if you like face to face contact it's another option.

It is what you eat and how much of it that will determine if you lose or not.
So, what do you eat and drink?

The gym won’t help with weight loss unless you are watching what you eat. Leg muscles are biggest so need to work on legs. Eat 120g of protein and cut back on process food. Eat loads of veg.

Well done on your weightloss, it’s a great effort. Honestly, don’t eat after 5pm nothing good happens after 5pm. And count your calories and weigh everything portion sizes can get really distorted. Keep up the upper body work!

Count calories. That’s it. Whether you are on jabs or not, you need to count every calorie, weigh your food and make sure you are in deficit.

I know I can only lose weight by eating at 1250 per day and it’s so hard, but if I stick to the limit then it works.

Eat less.

I could have written your post including bi annual bloods which are always in the healthy range and struggling with weight. Solidarity