Menopause and what worked for you?
 

Hello :wave:
I’m a lady of 52 and I had a radical hysterectomy two weeks ago. I’ve been taking HRT for around a year. I’ve found it really hard to lose weight over the last few years which is frustrating as I’ve a fair bit to lose. I’m wondering if anyone here has had success in losing a large amount of weight during or after the menopause. If you are happy to share, I’d love to hear your experience.

I lost 75 pounds after menopause, half of it with a low carb, Atkins style diet. Then a decade of stall & regain. Then lost the last half 2-3 years ago switching to higher protein, lower fat, higher fiber, more moderate carb diet. But you already know that part 😊 Early in your new journal I posted this about the new Menopause and Weight Gain study:

You mentioned hormonal challenges for "women of a certain age" in your post on my success story. This article is based on a recently published paper by Professors Raubenheimer and Simpson, a good explanation of why protein becomes more important as we age. It even wasn’t out yet when I lost the weight, but explains a lot!

Menopausal Weight Gain: The Problem and Solution Explained
https://optimisingnutrition.com/menopausal-weight-gain/

There are a number of success stories on DietDoctor of women using the higher protein, lower fat approach https://www.dietdoctor.com/succeede...-higher-satiety
And quite a few successes in Marty Kendall's ON Community with women in their 60s and 70s, by increasing our protein up to 40%. Sue is one of the early success stories that inspired me..not only lost weight but manages her MS symptoms! https://optimisingnutrition.com/mul...osis-nutrition/

I lost a total of 110 pounds, almost all of it after menopause. I started low carb eating when I was 55 years old. I am now 74 years old and have no trouble keeping the weight off. I too lost the last 10-20 pounds by adopting the higher protein diet recommended by Marty Kendall.

I'm also post menopausal and have recently lost just over 80 pounds following a higher protein, low carb diet combined with intermittent fasting.

Im post menopausal.....ovaries removed late 40's. Now early 60's.
After years of struggling, yo-yoing, have found my groove.
I am dropping weight. Finally. About 8-10# per month. For details, see my j.

I was well and truly post menopausal when I lost my 100 pounds. Now and then I think I'd like to lose a bit more but I'm basically pretty happy with how things are.

Oh, and I did that primarily eating low carb, enough protein and highish fat.

I lost about 70 pounds pre-menopause, on Atkins. After a disastrous experience and years of inadequate HRT (I don't respond to the pills and they didn't believe me) I lost my remaining excess weight by going carnivore to address my autoimmune issues. Which it did, though it remains a work in progress, keeping that in remission with diet.

All without exercise, because of the illness. It can be done. It's 90% about getting the right nutrients that satisfy our hunger. While many people lowered their fat intake for success, I had to ramp mine up. So it's very individual, and takes some experimenting, but I'd say the most important thing is to be willing to give up anything our culture claims is more important than health.

For many, it's the social issues which trip us up because we all struggle with being the only one eating this way. In conference settings I only eat the guts of a sandwich or the top of a pizza slice, and the pile of discarded bread on my plate always disturbs some people.

Sometimes the biggest challenge isn't changing our food. It's needing to stick with our own food in the middle of a group who finds it... some kind of challenge to accept that we are coloring outside the lines this way.

But it is infinitely worth the effort. As we get older, we need more nutrition, and less junk, to perform as we'd like. And that, along with disease remission, is worth far more than "fitting in."

Yes, I'd like to fit into my PANTS.

Thank you so much for reply! Yes, I learned about your story a little while ago, you did an amazing job! Thanks for pointing me in the direction of other success stories, there is so much negative info on the internet regarding menopause and weight loss, I felt like giving up before I started. :o

This is music to my ears! I’ve been feeling really disheartened… I was searching YouTube for success stories but couldn’t find anyone that lost a considerable amount of weight after menopause and most of the comments are negative with most claiming it is virtually impossible t9 lose weight. I’m now determined! Thanks for sharing. :)

Thank you for replying. Excellent results, well done! I hope to follow suit!

That’s great news… will def take a look at your journal! Thank you!

I’m so glad I made this post because there are very few stories of people losing considerable amounts of weight after menopause…I was obviously looking in the wrong places. Thank you and well done!

Thanks for this Werebear… I suffer with chronic fatigue and thus am not as active as I once was. I plan to incorporate exercise but it will be limited so always good to hear stories from those that didn’t exercise during their weight loss. Well done!

Sorry for asking. Have you had thyroid levels tested?? Thyroid as well as other areas, affect activity level. Keto v SAD also affects my energy level. A day of fasting ramps up my energy level.

Having thyroid meds has made a difference for me. Im hoping to not need supplements forever.

I corrected my low thyroid symptoms with a combination of weight loss and adding more nutrients through improved diet, esp. selenium, iodine, and all the vitamins and minerals from vegetables I had been restricting.