Help! Menopause - my middle is getting thicker!

[cylegoddess]

After the Big M, you have less estrogen right?so weight stops going to hips and butt and now is in abs.
What you need is some great herbal stuff they do here in Australia but I bet you can buy over the net.
Her stuff balances hormones without drugs and has specific tablets for bdoy shapes.
Her books rock!



Also, animal fats tend to congregate around waist more than others, for some reason.

Dr. Sandra Cabot is her name.

[jobob]

I'm 49 and my periods stopped a few months ago, after a couple of years of irregular ones, so I suppose I've joined the club. Although a friend has warned me that they may not entirely be over, yet.

But one thing I also noticed over the last few months is that (a) I have been having a helluva time losing weight - cutting back the way I did only a few years ago (which used to work) has produced no results at all this time and (b) my waist has thickened noticeably, even with all the pilates I do.

So yes, major physiological changes are happening. Gah!!

[Dogmama]

Jobob, I'm right there with you. I used to be able to squeeze in an extra cookie or two - not anymore.

I'm one year beyond my last period & my hot flashes are getting worse! It's only February - I shudder to think what this summer in Arizona will bring. I'm already planning a week in San Fran to cool off.

[OakLeaf]

In two weeks it'll be a year since my last period, which supposedly will make me officially Menopausal.

My middle has been getting thicker for the last couple of years even though my weight has stayed the same (touch wood). I'm always changing up my training though (last year it was more cycling and less heavy weight lifting; this year it's more running, yoga and less gym time; come summer I'll be doing more hills on the bici), so my body composition doesn't remain constant in any event.

I'm waiting for the ton of bricks to hit me.

[Zen]

I just recently discovered that fat cells produce estrogen . It It was like a light bulb going off over my head.

So last night I bought some low-fat chocolate soymilk

[sundial]

So last night I bought some low-fat chocolate soymilk

Where's the joy in that?? Ya gotta break out the Hershey's syrup for an occasional treat.

[Zen]

Thank you, no.
I have enough demons without you, Sundial

[Laterider21958]

Hi. Last period was almost 2 months ago and if I really think about it the hot flushes began a few weeks after. It was hard to tell because we're in the middle of our hottest part of the year and our heat wave maximum was 47 deg C around that time. It was hot with out the flushes! I'm finding the flushes last about 4 or 5 minutes, but are beginning to occur more frequently. At times a couple of times in an hour. Won't take HRT as that's what my mother did and ended up with hormone related breast cancer. Looks like I'm going to have to get used it.

Regarding losing weight. When I turned 49 late 2007 I decided I needed to rid myself of a few kilograms so I began fast walking. Found that listening to fairly up-tempo music on my mp3 player helped to keep the pace going throughout the 5 km route. I began my walks when I had 5 weeks holiday, so walked most mornings, however when I returned to work could only walk weekends. In 4 months I lost 3.5 kgs and then a further 1 kg during 2008. Haven't managed to do much walking for a couple of months now, but have maintained my new weight. Eating habits haven't changed all that much other than eating a lot less bread (and butter I suppose). Like others have mentioned, my waistline gradually (and sneakily) got larger after I turned 40. The 4.5 kg loss in weight must have made a little difference to my waist as I feel much more comfortable in my clothes. Oh, and my "back roll" is less noticeable these days - perhaps the 4.5 kg came off my back!

[KathiCville]

I'm 50 and have had only two periods in the past year, so I'm definitely well on my way to being officially menopausal....YAYYY! I do NOT miss my period!

I have noticed that I'm a tad thicker than I used to be in the middle. I've always been slender and 'angular,' so it feels a little odd to have, mmm, 'curves.' Fortunately, doing yoga and/or Pilates regularly seems to help to maintain muscle definition. My BF has commented a couple of times recently that---to his eyes---I look like I've lost weight. I never weigh myself, but don't think I've actually dropped any pounds. I think he's just noticing the toning I get from mat-time.

Gone are the days when I could indulge my sweet tooth and count on working it off in a hurry! I definitely eat less starch (bread, pasta) and less sugar (candy, desserts) than I used to. S'OK because now my energy doesn't rocket up and down like the stock market.

My biggest challenges so far with menopause haven't been weight shift or hot flashes. Instead, the main annoyances are disrupted sleep and a ridiculously short attention span. Melatonin helps somewhat with the sleep. And my doc says that once I'm fully through the transition, the AWOL attention span should snap back into place. (Soon? Soon?)

[jobob]

My biggest challenges so far with menopause haven't been weight shift or hot flashes. Instead, the main annoyances are disrupted sleep and a ridiculously short attention span. Melatonin helps somewhat with the sleep. And my doc says that once I'm fully through the transition, the AWOL attention span should snap back into place. (Soon? Soon?)

OMG, I noticed the short attention span too. It doesn't even take shiny objects to distract me these days.

I was starting to worry that I might be in the early stages of Alzheimer's or some other dementia. Seriously! So it was very reassuring for me to read (here and elsewhere) that this is a common symptom of early menopause. Whew!

[OakLeaf]

Hmmmmmm. I was attributing the attention span to too much time on the computer.

Yippee!!! I can stay here without frying my brain!!!

[Dogmama]

Attention span....mmmm...yeah...what were we talking about? Oh yeah, the weather....

How about memory retention? I just returned to school this year..holy moly. I had a "check up from the neck up" this week and my shrink prescribed something called Cerefolin NAC. It is basically a drilled down form of folate acid (B vitamin), b-12 and an antioxidant. Just started taking it yesterday & have already noticed a surge in energy. He said it helps memory & actually is used in pre-dementia people. Anyway, I liked that it is natural - OK - as natural as a drilled down vitamin can be. I *seem* to be concentrating better but I'm thinking it may be a placebo effect. Or maybe not. What was I saying?

[sundial]

I used to have an excellent memory. Now it's shot. I forget words mid-sentence and it's really embarrassing. I feel like I've got a short in the brain.

[Dogmama]

I used to have an excellent memory. Now it's shot. I forget words mid-sentence and it's really embarrassing. I feel like I've got a short in the brain.

Oh man, do I know that one! And I'm studying to be a therapist. It ought to be fun, "Gee Mr. Jones, how do you feel about your wife having an affair with....hey how about those Dodgers?"

[sundial]

LOL!

I can't seem to get my tummy to shrink much, if any, either. What was so frustrating about this process is I managed to lose weight on the same diet that suddenly put 15 lbs on me within 6 months of my surgical menopause.