Menopause fat loss - what to prioritize

[Sue B]

Originally Posted by Paula

I am 65 and well past menopause. But when I was in your situation my doctor (who was a female) gave me some good advice. She told me not to even try to diet. When I lamented I was gaining weight and my clothes didn't fit she told me to buy a bigger size. She said don't try to lose now, just eat healthy and keep up regular exercise. You won't lose weight while your hormones are changing and you'll just get discouraged and you'll give up trying. She told me to wait until she told me I could diet. I went up two sizes and didn't like the way I looked but I did as she suggested. When she said, "now you can diet" after I was through menopause the weight came off easily. I'm grateful for her sage advice.

This sounds like my experience. I gained a lot more than 10 pounds, had low energy and was hungry as a bear through menopause. Working out harder or trying to "diet" only made me more ravenous. So I just bought bigger clothes and tried to go with the flow. Drop Two Sizes came along at the right time - heavy lifting, which I enjoyed, yet gentler and easier than most heavy lifting programs. My goal was just to finish the program and nothing more. Once I did, it made it easier to move on to other, harder programs as I got over the hump. Now I'm (almost) back to pre-menopause size, but more importantly, I'm still in the habit of working out. If I had beaten myself up as I got bigger, I probably would have ended up injured and discouraged from ever exercising again.