Sister, can you lend a good word ?

[Pax]

I'm post menopausal (for the last ten years) and the ONLY thing I've found that will work is exercising and portion control. Our bodies just aren't the same as they were before so we can't eat as much as we used to (crap!).

[Tuckervill]

It's a good time to work through all the crap you've been carrying around with you from your past. Get some therapy, find out why you are overweight. Christiane Northrup's book The Wisdom of Menopause goes into this in some detail.

I am perimenopausal, and about 3 years ago (I'm 47) I decided I would beat the menopausal spread by trying to get down to a normal weight BEFORE I went into menopause. So far, 45ish pounds gone. I advance closer to the pause every year, with extra periods, etc. I really spend my time thinking of mostly of myself! And when I do that, I have plenty of me to go around to the others who need me. I wish I had figured this out in my 30s.

Karen

[tulip]

It's a good time to work through all the crap you've been carrying around with you from your past. Get some therapy, find out why you are overweight. Christiane Northrup's book The Wisdom of Menopause goes into this in some detail.

I am perimenopausal, and about 3 years ago (I'm 47) I decided I would beat the menopausal spread by trying to get down to a normal weight BEFORE I went into menopause. So far, 45ish pounds gone. I advance closer to the pause every year, with extra periods, etc. I really spend my time thinking of mostly of myself! And when I do that, I have plenty of me to go around to the others who need me. I wish I had figured this out in my 30s.

Karen

BRILLIANT! That is going on my quote wall in my office. Thanks!

[Crankin]

I am six years post menopause and I did lose some weight right around the time I stopped having my period. I had started cycling about 2 years before this and steadily lost about 10 lbs. Then, after the periods stopped, I lost about 5 more, from upping my mileage. I have to be a lot more careful now, but I still eat plenty of good things. I go out to eat a lot.
But, no dessert, except for special occasions, no junk, ever, no cookies, cake, etc. in the house. No soda, white bread (OK, once in awhile), fried stuff.
I exercise 5-6 days a week. And, that has to be varied or my old body gets used to whatever I am doing and starts gaining.
Lots of fruits and veggies, lean protein.

[HermitGirl]

Count me in. I'm 47 and have been finding myself completely 'pausal' (not sure what phase of 'peri' I'm in) and it's put the weight on like no tomorrow. I always battled 10 to 20 pounds throughout my 20's and 30's , but since turning 40 the weight really started coming on. Of course, other factors were major blamers, such as getting depressed and not exercizing half as much as previous years, and getting angry and emotional about everything around me... the usual triggers going way off the deep end and becoming festering thorns for a downright self image crisis. Yeah, probably typical. Anyway, I am 55 pounds over my lean weight, but I'll settle for losing only 45 if that's as good as it will get. I just need to get STARTED. It seems I've been in denial about this for years now, and I'm just tired of holding the wool over my eyes.

I've not been riding at all, not doing too well at this heaviest weight, but I hike at least 5 times per week, for about an hour, with my dog. I've recently started jogging intervals in those hikes. I am just now seeing results, three weeks later, for the jogging intervals, and have gone down about 3 pounds. My goal is to trim off 10 pounds and I will then start riding again. Big excuses why I don't use the pedaling to get it going, but I loath the thought of driving to ride, and I live on top of a steep mtn which is just a little daunting to manage for the present , to even pedal for a couple of miles. So then, I know I'll be pedling pretty soon, I'm shooting for some time in March. But back to the whole exasperating battle with this BRUTAL reality of the peri/post menopausal physical changes, I'm only too happy to huddle with you girls here and talk about it ! This thread is just what I needed.

[tctrek]

I am post-menopausal (56). Between the ages of 45-50 I gained about 50 pounds. I was eating and acting like I did when I was younger, but my body was not processing the calories the same. At age 50 I was up to 175 pounds at 5'2" tall! I started going to the gym, and to cut down on calories. I lost about 5 pounds in a year... very disheartening. The weight would not come off.

About 1.5 years ago, I started going to spinning classes and lost a few pounds. I got energized again and started to *really* watch my eating. 1200 calories per day, less than 20% fat. I up'd my protein intake to at least 30% of my calories. Started eating 5 small meals a day. And I bought a bike and started riding on the road.

I lost 30 pounds that year! Now I have 20 more pounds to go and I find myself at 56 struggling to get rid of that last 20 pounds! I am journalling every drop of food that goes in my mouth and all my exercise. I'm once again trying to find the right "formula" to get the weight loss going again.

Does your weight control change at menopause? You betcha it does. You have to be focused and consistent in figuring out how to change your eating and exercising habits in order to balance your body and get weight loss or weight maintenance under control. I sincerely believe the formula for each person can be different. You have to listen to your body and pay attention to what you eat and how it impacts your weight.

[bambu101]

Count me in on this discussion. I am 55 and have been struggling to find the right combination of exercise and eating right for the last few years. The weight seems to come on very easily, and taking it off is much more difficult than it ever was in the past. The extra weight is more concentrated in my mid-section.

I just joined our brand-new fitness center at work, and am working out an eating plan of lean protein, and mostly veggies. I did Weight Watchers about 7 years ago, pre-menopause, and lost 34 pounds, but put it all back on. I don't think that WW is the answer for me anymore, as I was constantly hungry, and felt that it taught me how to count points, and not how to eat right.