What's a girl gotta do to....

S

Stacy

Cathlete
...lose a little weight in menopause???? I've been keeping a food and exercise journal, working out 4-5 days a week and at least once a week upping the intensity by introducing a harder workout b/c I want to progress at the same time not overtrain or kill my joints. I'm not counting strict cals b/c that doesn't work for me, but I'm making healthier choices and watching portion sizes. After 4 weeks I weigh more than when I started. My blood work is all normal. I don't drink alcohol so no splurges there. I work full time at a job that I'm walking all day so no sedentary life style there. I know all the kind sentiments that people say such as "maybe you're eating more than you think", or "weight is only a number", or "just be happy with who you are" but I'm seriously frustrated here! I've reviewed past journals pre-menopause from a few years ago and I'd eat more and easily drop 2-3 lbs in one week! Just need to vent and ask for any success stories or ideas to keep me motivated.
 
I am pre-menopausal myself. I ditched my cardio routines (was doing 3-4 long cardio's a week) and started lifting 4 days a week, short HIIT(10-15 min) workouts 4days a week, and only two 30-40 min. of cardio a week. Weight is dropping off. Everybody's body is different but that's what is working for me.
 
Stacy said:
...lose a little weight in menopause???? I've been keeping a food and exercise journal, working out 4-5 days a week and at least once a week upping the intensity by introducing a harder workout b/c I want to progress at the same time not overtrain or kill my joints. I'm not counting strict cals b/c that doesn't work for me, but I'm making healthier choices and watching portion sizes. After 4 weeks I weigh more than when I started. My blood work is all normal. I don't drink alcohol so no splurges there. I work full time at a job that I'm walking all day so no sedentary life style there. I know all the kind sentiments that people say such as "maybe you're eating more than you think", or "weight is only a number", or "just be happy with who you are" but I'm seriously frustrated here! I've reviewed past journals pre-menopause from a few years ago and I'd eat more and easily drop 2-3 lbs in one week! Just need to vent and ask for any success stories or ideas to keep me motivated.
Click to expand...
Is it possible that the weight gain is muscle?
I can't use a scale, it's too frustrating for me. The more fit I am, the more I weigh. But, I do gain muscle easily. This is just a suggestion. Like Repo stated, everyone is different.
 
Hi Repo
What is your lifting split ? Just curious and looking for inspiration for my next rotation. Hope you don't mind me asking and thank you :)
Brigitte
 
Well, I am 50 and post-menopausal and I lost 30 pounds a year ago with intermittent fasting.... I highly recommend the book "Delay Don't Deny" or any advice from Gin Stephens. The weight came off easily, and I don't track anything at all. I fast about 20 hours a day, but the minimum recommended is 16. I've been living this lifestyle for over a year, and find that my workouts have improved. I did Flex Train last week, and feel like it's too easy now. I also do hiit, did STS earlier this year, spin with Peloton.....
 
Repo, I'd also be interested in more detail on your rotation. Do you do mostly Cathe?

Desert, I don't think it's muscle. I guess it's possible, but I've lifted for years. (You've got my favorite profile pic! We were in Utah about 2 yrs ago, did some canyoneering near Zion. Beautiful!)

Hoky, do you fast daily for 20 hrs? If not how intermittently?

Thanks for all your responses. I'm not giving up!!
 
Yes I fast daily - the key to success (and being easy to stick to) is fasting clean, only black coffee, plain water or green tea during the fast. No artificial sweeteners, no “natural flavors”, no gum, mints, anything that could spike insulin. There’s quite a science behind it! I think the reason it works so well for me is I’m not thinking about food all day long (which happens when I’m counting or tracking). I also don’t deny myself anything, which works with my perfectionist tendencies. [emoji23]


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I mix Nia Shanks rotations with Cathe workouts. I change my routine every 4 weeks. Now I'm doing upper body/lower body/ cardio then repeat. I use only compound exercises at the gym and use Cathe for biceps, triceps, inner outer thigh and HIIT workouts.
 
I’m just starting to lose weight now after approximately 5 years of having gained it initially (in peri menopause). I am 51 and I think I’ll be officially menopausal soon. 5 years ago, I gained weight rapidly and my body fat distribution shifted from my hips/thighs to my waist. I used to control my weight fairly easily and I always relied on exercise. Nothing worked for me this time though and I became somewhat resigned to it. I also developed problems with sleeping. I decided to take a final stab recently and attack everything at once (sleep, diet, and exercise). Blackout blinds helped a great deal with sleep issues. I was already eating *mostly* low/good carb but I still cleaned it up more and I also started counting calories (I hate to do this but I’m much more motivated now that it’s working—apps make it fairly painless as well—I’m thinking of it as developing my own research file that I can refer back to in case the weight loss stalls, or I need to lose weight again, etc.). I am not perfect with the calories (too high) but if the weight loss stalls I’ll reduce what I’m eating. I *somewhat* follow intermittent fasting—I try to skip lunch and have an early dinner—leaving 12 hours between breakfast and dinner both during the day and in the evening. I’m not always successful in skipping lunch but if nothing else I try to eat dinner as early as possible.

I had trouble reintroducing exercise. I thought that getting adequate sleep would help but it didn’t—I did it sporadically and liked it but couldn’t sustain a habit (I also seem to keep injuring myself—which doesn’t help). Out of desperation, I got an under desk elliptical. This was solely intended to alleviate potential health issues from being stationary much of the day and give me the energy to do focused exercise. But my weight started dropping. I’m losing 2.5 to 3 pounds a week now after years of not getting the scale to budge (I did fairly intense exercise sessions 5 years ago as well—it’s only recently that I got out of the habit). This probably doesn’t help you as you say you are not sedentary. In my case though, I’m fairly certain that pre menopause hormones kept insulin resistance at bay. I’m genetically predisposed towards insulin resistance. I feel much better now and I’m going to start exercising consistently again. My appetite is reduced as well (if I’m getting proper exercise, my appetite is generally reduced and I also crave healthy food—that may be partly why exercise used to work for me). I’m determined to be idle as little as possible. I work at home currently so I move my mini elliptical to the living room if I want to watch tv but don’t want to stand/exercise. I also use it when I read. And if/when I work in an office again I’ll take the elliptical to work and get another for home (it’s unobtrusive and quiet—I think most people would assume it’s a footrest). I really think that I just need to be in motion as much as possible when not sleeping. I don’t expect to get my old figure back but I would like to be healthy and reduce my chances of getting diabetes.

I guess my advice is to look into insulin resistance as a possibility if you haven’t already. And try to reduce stress/cortisol/resolve sleep issues if you have them.



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I think I’m predisposed to insulin resistance as well. Only I have been using macros and calorie counting, I also work out 5-6 days a week with a mix of Hiit, weights and 30 minute cardio and I still can’t get the weight on my middle to move. It’s very frustrating! I wonder if intermittent fasting would help me? I’m getting desperate as well.
 
Intermittent fasting DEFINITELY helps with insulin resistance. There’s a lot of reviews of “Delay, Don’t Deny” on Amazon... I’ll bet you’d find mention of it there. Or, the Facebook group associated with it is One Meal A Day IF Lifestyle. You have to answer questions to join, such as you support clean fasting. It’s also a very very very positive group, and they are very serious about being ultra supportive. Kind of like here!


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Just to add something here. The best thing I EVER did to lose fat, was to retire. Sitting 10 hours a day certainly was not conducive to losing weight, or anything fitness related. Retired in May, saw my physician in August, had lost 10 lbs. Hadn't even thought about losing weight.
I'm long past menopause, (66) but I have abs again. In the past, I have also lost fat using intermittent fasting. It was easy, and became a way of life.
 
I'm 51 and post menopause. Train 5 to 6 days a week with weights, hiit on the treadmill at my gym class, pilates and ballet so alot of variation. But what determines whether I gain or lose weight is evening snacking I recently dropped 5 pounds in 2 weeks by reducing the snacks. I do generally eat clean as I have a gluten sensitivity but allow a weekend treat
 
There's also some information out there that suggests that IF (intermittent fasting) is NOT a good idea for females. You can do an Internet search. I also highly recommend using PubMed. At the end of the day, food is what will make or break weight loss - not so much exercise (though regular exercise will help you keep it off). Have you considered HRT?
 
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