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Old 10-27-16, 11:41 PM  
Sue B
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paula View Post
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.
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Old 10-28-16, 12:15 AM  
ronnee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paula View Post
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.
Thank you for this! Between menopause and battling a weird, relentless medical issue this year, I've gain about 12 lbs. Buying clothes that fit made me feel much better. Plus I added in a new workout -- go twice a week to 9round -- a kickboxing circuit gym that is quite challenging but I enjoy being able to do it as it makes me feel good about my fitness level regardless of size. Going to keep your Dr's advice in my head during those days when I'm feeling frustrated and know that this too shall pass.

I do recommend trying as much as possible to focus on fitness and ability during this time (versus size/weight). It helps. For me, having spent a number of weeks at various times over the past year unable to exercise and sometimes barely making it out of bed, I've come to appreciate this more and more!

Paula -- when did you find you were ready? After not having your period for a year? Just curious .
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Old 10-28-16, 03:54 AM  
bzar
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Originally Posted by Paula View Post
When she said, "now you can diet" after I was through menopause the weight came off easily. I'm grateful for her sage advice.
somewhere on VF, someone posted a similar experience. i wish i saved that post, but she basically said after a certain period of time, the weight will come off.

obviously you can't go hog wild with the food, but this person posted about staying the course, and eventually it came off.

i'm curious how long did it take? everyone is different, i realize.

i had hot flashes for about 5 years. in the past 18 months, i've noticed it went down a lot. i almost feel normal. still battling insomnia, feeling tired, but i like working out. i do lots of walking.

edited to add - i found the thread in question:
Has anyone lost weight with menopause?
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Old 10-28-16, 04:50 AM  
IceQueen07
 
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I am in the same boat and it is nice to hear that there is a chance of dropping this added weight eventually. It was a little depressing when I started gaining inches/pounds and aging at the same time and nothing works to take it back off. The normal go to workouts and eating just not cutting it anymore. Lately I have been watching my portions which seems to help.
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Old 10-28-16, 07:53 AM  
Pat58
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I second all the suggestions to focus on fitness rather than dieting because keeping fit is so important to retaining bone mass and muscle mass, both of which we need desperately for the post-meno years.

Not to mention, exercising helps with mental clarity and just general better mood.

Wish I had more to add - best wishes to you.
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Old 10-28-16, 07:53 AM  
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For those of you on the other side, thank you for posting. So encouraging.
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Old 10-28-16, 07:58 AM  
desderata
 
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I agree that after you are in menopause it will be possible to get the weight off. For me, though, doing so required a certain intensity of workouts, consistency of 6-7 days per week, and very close attention to diet. With all of that, the weight came off and I'm down to my size at 20 years old.

I always loved cardio but post menopause found weight workouts - both traditional and metabolic - to be most effective at losing fat. I like kettlebell workouts because they are intense but the movement patterns feel good to my body.

I avoid sweets and alcohol because they add empty calories that seem to take me over the edge pretty quickly.

I really don't understand women who mourn being in menopause - after perimenopause, I feel wonderful.
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Old 10-28-16, 08:36 AM  
wishiwasinhawaii
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paula View Post
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.
Thank you for posting this! It makes perfect sense.
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Old 10-28-16, 08:43 AM  
Pat58
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Originally Posted by cherimac View Post
For those of you on the other side, thank you for posting. So encouraging.
Cheri, the day that I brought my warehouse-sized stash of no longer needed maxi pads, midi pads, mini pads, liners, and tampons in three sizes to the women's shelter was a grand day. There is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.
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Old 10-28-16, 08:44 AM  
Aunt Famous
 
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How funny! After getting frustrated with sudden weight gain and no clothes that fit, I ended up getting rid of too-small clothes a few months ago. (I wrote about it here if you're interested.) It really made me feel a whole lot better. Thanks for the sane advice.

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