Menopausal Weight Gain

[shootingstar]

Ditto on the waking up! so frustrating........and totally messes with your metabolic rate to be sleep deprived......

I went to a general info. session 6 months ago, about the importance of sleep at different stages of our lives and link to health. As we know babies need lots of sleep..because they are growing.literally so fast.

Teenagers tend to need alot of sleep because their bodies are growing and maturing. (Guess it's a matter how much sleep.)

The speaker ran a sleep rehab. clinic. He did treat some folks who in addition to resolving their sleep apena problem, they lost several lbs. simply after sleeping longer and more deeply for several months.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1991337/

Anyway, I doubt dearie wants to read more of this since he's had a sleep disorder his whole adult life..and he and I both know his metabolism is naturally slower than mine because he can't figure out why I can eat same amount as he and yet it will take longer for me to gain the weight.

But maybe not anymore. I can't speak accurately about my situation since I cut back 90% intake of white rice, white bread and heavier pastas 5 years ago. I was in menopause for over 2 years with very mild symptoms of short hot flashes only couple times per month, some uneven periods. That's all. And now I guess I am post-menopause since no period for last 18 months. I will be 54 in 3 months. I've been cycling alot less probably 30% less than what I used to annually, simply because I live now in a region with icier/snowier and longer winters. My weight has been ok but I do have to be alert.

One difference for me is that now I seem to naturally have more for breakfast even though I cycle less. 20 years ago I used to jump onto the bike with only a glass of milk and do my 16 km. work commute.

Now I have cornflakes with milk, tea and fruit. It's just a natural evolution for me. I may be eating little less for supper now. I'm not sure. I haven't kept a food diary yet. Yes, I still eat some no-no foods --pastry or biscotti. That's probably one area I have to watch myself. Other than that, I eat junk food or glass of wine maybe 1-2 times per month or less. I've never liked pop, not even as a child ...of any type, my whole life so far.

[OakLeaf]

I've definitely seen some redistribution of fat around my belly, but in my case, menopause and distance running have coincided. It's been the case throughout my life that my body composition is best when I'm doing high volume with most of it at low(er) intensity. I've read quite a bit about how high intensity work becomes more important as we age, and as I recover from my injuries I'm certainly intending to reintroduce speedwork and higher resistance. But there's a point at which intensity and volume have to balance each other ... obviously no one can run 15 miles at their 5K pace, just for example. I always drop a couple of pounds in the later weeks of marathon training.

Cortisol issues are more likely to arise as the intensity goes up. And as we age, recovery times get longer, meaning we're more likely to be overtrained if we do high-intensity work too often. So I guess I'd save the speedwork and heavy weights for a couple of days a week, and do at least one and preferably two lower-intensity rides/runs of three hours or more.

[Crankin]

I have found the same thing as Oak. Of course, I am not training for any marathons, but I notice how my body seems to be finely tuned to amount, duration, and intensity in a way that it wasn't before. I do intervals a lot more in any of the sports I do; luckily for me, this occurs naturally, as in big hills.
I also eat a much bigger breakfast than before. More than Shooting Star. As long as I don't add the bread, I'm fine. And, I would last about 5 minutes on a bowl of cereal and fruit. I'll have a whole wheat bagel or waffles once during the weekend. But, protein is the key for me.
My abs are not as defined as they were; I have a very skinny waist (even when I was heavy), and they look flat, but the whole area is just softer. I can live with that, as long as it doesn't progress and I keep doing planks and sit ups. But, my abs even went right back down after I had kids, so that's not my real problem area. It's always been my hips and thighs. My thighs are fine; cycling thighs, but my hips, while they look fine in pants, are not firm and neither is my azz. I have to be careful about how my tops and pants fit together, or it can look ugly. The only time my rear was firm was when I weighed 92 pounds and was teaching 7 fitness classes a week. Then, I looked scary.
My really bad peri-menopause coincided right when I started cycling. I had my last period about the time I'd been riding 1.5 years. I started having symptoms at about age 36 and my last period was at 48. I didn't have the flashes and stuff until I was about 45-46 and I just dealt with it. Drank cool water all day long, which helped. I've never been a sound sleeper, so my sleep wasn't disrupted any more than usual!

[murielalex]

Well, my trainer echos the cortisol/high intensity/and/or endurance connection. Just for example, I rode 80 miles this morning. I actually gained three pounds, and though I hydrated and fueled up (200 cal per hour), three pounds is a lot, but I know my body at this point, and it will also hold on to that three pounds for at least a few days if not longer. When I cycle about 30-40 miles with same hydration and calories, I don't put that on.