Do you think the perimenopausal spare tire has to happen?

L Sass

L Sass

Cathlete
I've read about so many here who have always been fit as a fiddle, then hit that mid-40's perimenopausal time, didn't change their eating, kept the working out and still BAM! Got hammered by that peri spare tire. Do you think it is inevitable? For those of you who have successfully battled it (are you there?) please share what you did and what results you saw.
 
I had a little battle with this. I had my 1st son at 37 and my second at almost 40. Then I started perimenopase. For a year or 2 I could not get rid of that baby weight. Then, I started focusing WAY more on my eating than my exercise and BAM. It was gone. I'm mostly menopausal now at 44 but I don't feel it's as hard. I'm kinda small to begin with so maybe I was just lucky. But the times when my eating gets bad- it goes right to. my belly!!!!!

I also stopped doing abs for awhile because I seemed to "bulk" there. Kinda like I was pushing the FAT to the surface when I built up the muscles. So I focused more on strictly cardio.
HTH

ellie
 
I agree with Elliemom...

I started getting that spare tire around 45 (had both of my kids mid- to late-30s). I had always carried extra weight in my hips and thighs, but suddenly it was hanging around my middle and over my belt too.

I'd always been a faithful exerciser, but never a really great eater. However, since I've focused on improving my eating, I've seen it go away. The good news: You can reduce or get rid of it. The bad news: You have to be so careful about your diet to do so.

The party's over. :(
 
I wouldn't say it's inevitable, but I do believe that you have to watch for it's arrival and start really fine tuning your diet when it shows up. I think the problem for many of us was that we weren't expecting it and so when it sneaks up so quickly you don't see it's happening until it's already there. I know the first time it happened to me, it took less than two weeks for the weight to appear and it happened to be a time when I was focused on other things and then when my clothes got tight it was like "hello here I am."

I know for me that the only thing that really helped was diet, because my workouts were always consistent. Unfair as it is, it always seems to come back to taking control of what goes in your mouth.
 
For myself, diet is the only thing that works. Granted I work full time plus a full time grad student, so working out is a luxury to me. My diet that works for me is limiting pasta and limiting portion sizes, cut down on soda and drink more water. Lunch lately that bought it down is yogurt, water, and fruit. Dinner is whole foods like brocolli, carrots, whole pototes, and grilled white meat. Breakfast is oatmeal. I am 47 years old and my change hit about two years ago.
 
the tire

Hi,

I'm 49 and got the initial tire about 3 years ago. It just kind of crept up on me; probably 3-5 lbs all around the mid section. I'm about 110, so that's a lot! I really had to work my a$$ off and went on a strict diet of almost no carbs for awhile and heavy weight work. I finally did get it off and I've been able to keep it off, but I watch everything I eat and I don't cheat. I continue do a variety of weight work and cardio consistently. I have since added carbs back into my diet, but very sparingly. It was so hard for me to get off, that I really don't want to eat too much or cheat because it is just not worth it to me. I'm not to the point where I will resign myself to the fact that I will be thick around the middle:)

Tracy
 
I've lived a life of brutal exercise and spartan diet - bikini still at 40...41, got curvier - figure changed and looked more womanly - boobs and hips bigger - weight still 129-134 at 5'5 with tons of muscle...then 46, my period went from 4-6 a year to every month, and 8 lbs appeared....and guess what - BFD - to a point....I won't do brutal workouts anymore (LOVING CLX,Love Jari, but the only Cathe I've done in 18 months is 4ds, would love STS, but too much money)....to get super slim again would require a level of deprivation and intensity, that would just seem wierd...ready for something more...BMI is 22, weight is 138 (though I sure would love to see 129 for a day!)....and to keep it there, I"m eating really clean and cutting junk as much as I can...and that helps the mood a great deal....
 
Like icumom I've also found that as I've progressed through perimenopause I've come to accept my body where it's at and where it wants to stay. I'm not willing to starve myself and overwork my body to have the same level of fitness I had in the past. I'm strong, healthy and if my thighs and hips are an inch or two bigger I'm ok with that. Now, even a couple years ago, there's no way I'd have been ok. But, I've found that as time passes there is a definite mental shift in my acceptance of my body.
 
I'm one of those women who is looking forward to my forties (this year!) and that general stage of life. I don't think it's inevitable, the spare tire, but if a couple of extra pounds come I am not going to sweat it. I'll just keep working out and enjoying all food in moderation.

Sparrow
 
I'll echo the words of an earlier poster... when I gained weight when I was younger, it went to my butt and thighs. I wasn't happy about that, but now it goes to the middle. I am in process right now of removing about 8 lbs that have crept up and stuck. even if you don't gain weight some soft of "shape shifting" goes on making the middle wider in many of us. and the tummy pooch. I'm working very hard to maintain and actually increase my muscle mass and it's working. Wish I'd known about weight training a couple decades ago!. Not easy.. but is it ever?
 
I've been wondering the same thing, but so far, nothing. I know my hormones are different now, but no weight gain and only minor shape changes so far. I'll be 53 in March. Right now I'm at the lowest weight I've been in all my adult years! :eek: My BMI is about 19. I just saw the gyn and asked her "when will the big M be here"? She said probably at about age 56! When is the shape change supposed to happen? During periM or after M? I'm definitely on a hormone roller coaster ride, and I've got the fibroids to prove it; but so far so good in regard to figure changes. Am I the only one (are you out there Jeanne Marie)? I'm probably in for a terribly rude awakening. :confused: But, anyway, I hope you feel encouraged by this post, Lorrie.
 
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I think for most people the weight gain, shape change happens during perimenopause. Hormones get all whacky on you. Perimenopause is generally a fairly long period of time, up to like 10 years. Menopause is when you are officially done having periods at which point your hormones would settle into a new levels and become more regular.
 
nancy324 said:
I've been wondering the same thing, but so far, nothing. I know my hormones are different now, but no weight gain and only minor shape changes so far. I'll be 53 in March. Right now I'm at the lowest weight I've been in all my adult years! :eek: My BMI is about 19. I just saw the gyn and asked her "when will the big M be here"? She said probably at about age 56! When is the shape change supposed to happen? During periM or after M? I'm definitely on a hormone roller coaster ride, and I've got the fibroids to prove it; but so far so good in regard to figure changes. Am I the only one (are you out there Jeanne Marie)? I'm probably in for a terribly rude awakening. :confused: But, anyway, I hope you feel encouraged by this post, Lorrie.
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I was reading your post with interest, Nancy, and there you go and call me out! :D

I am pretty much in your same boat. I am not in menopause yet, but my periods are sporatic. I don't have any other symptoms (sweats, insomnia, etc.) so far. I'll be 53 in November. I don't have a "spare tire" yet, but I am noticing slight skin changes there (and elsewhere). I have fit abdominals and a pretty low body fat, as you do Nancy, but the skin just doesn't remain as tight once you hit your 50s. It's definitely nothing I can't live with, and is only noticeable to me, but it's there.

Personally, I think everybody experiences something different. So much will be dependent on genetics, body type and what you put in your mouth!! I hope we're not in for a rude awakening, Nancy. But you can bet if I see it starting to happen, I'll be fighting tooth and nail! :p
 
Jeane Marie,

I'm glad you posted. I have very lean abs too, but last year (around my 46 b-day) I noticed my ab skin looking loose. I was very upset. My abs have always been my best body part and that is going!:eek: What else?!!!

Like I said in the elephant thread....bat cave is looking pretty inviting:p
 
L Sass said:
I've read about so many here who have always been fit as a fiddle, then hit that mid-40's perimenopausal time, didn't change their eating, kept the working out and still BAM! Got hammered by that peri spare tire. Do you think it is inevitable? For those of you who have successfully battled it (are you there?) please share what you did and what results you saw.
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Oh heavens I relate.... I dont think it HAS to happen but goodness I'm not sure I have it in me to do everything that I need to with eating/exercise to outwit it!
For me my eating has to be dead-on clean...even a free day of food stays with me for 2 weeks...*ho hum*....I also think it happens because we are all moving right along in our workouts and doing fine..then the hormonal changes seem to occur almost overnight...We didnt even know we should have been changing things up! :rolleyes:
 
JeanneMarie said:
I was reading your post with interest, Nancy, and there you go and call me out! :D

I am pretty much in your same boat. I am not in menopause yet, but my periods are sporatic. I don't have any other symptoms (sweats, insomnia, etc.) so far. I'll be 53 in November. I don't have a "spare tire" yet, but I am noticing slight skin changes there (and elsewhere). I have fit abdominals and a pretty low body fat, as you do Nancy, but the skin just doesn't remain as tight once you hit your 50s. It's definitely nothing I can't live with, and is only noticeable to me, but it's there.

Personally, I think everybody experiences something different. So much will be dependent on genetics, body type and what you put in your mouth!! I hope we're not in for a rude awakening, Nancy. But you can bet if I see it starting to happen, I'll be fighting tooth and nail! :p
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I was wondering if there was anyone else out there, and then you popped into my head, and then I knew there was at least one other! ;)

Regarding loose skin, oh my. The loss of elastin shocks me every time I notice it. And I'm not talking about "fine lines". Give me a break, Olay commercials. Fine lines give you character. Loose skin just makes you want to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. :eek:
 
I was bemoaning my new "squish" to my DH's 32 year old daughter, I am 42..she looked at me and said, "You don't have bellyfat, that is just your skin getting looser as you get older!" And I don't have kids! Seriously, this sucks. I went so far as to ask a plastic surgeon for lipo on my abs, he refused, said there wasn't enough there to lipo or pull up or whatever they do with loose skin. Crap.

So there ya go. I notice the skin thing on the thighs now too. Ever caught a glimpse of thigh in the direct sunlight? HA. Doesn't matter if that thigh is 15 percent bodyfat and toned to the hilt, if the skin is looser, it looks like, well, you have loose skin! Sorry, I am NOT taking this whole aging thing very well. ;)
 
tneah said:
. I went so far as to ask a plastic surgeon for lipo on my abs, he refused, said there wasn't enough there to lipo or pull up or whatever they do with loose skin. Crap.
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Are you serious? I was planning to get the skin snipped off. Seriously.
 
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