Perimenopause stopping me losing weight.

Hi,

I'm really desperate for an answer.For 2 years I have searched the internet, read books on weight loss and got no closer to finding a solution.

My calorie intake goes like this, 1300 is my sedentary amount, then I also eat what Ive burned exercising ( using HR monitor for cals burned) generally thats 1800 cals in a day. I eat loads of veg, lean chicken , wholegrains - all good stuff.

Weight is 181lbs, Im 42  and 5 ft 9

The last time I lost any weight was in 2006 :( I've read about hormone imbalances and know this is what I am going through ( I had hot flashes, water retention) and Im trying to balance things by using natural progesterone but still I cannot lose a single pound. I have nothing else to try, Ive eaten more, eaten less, doubled my exercise and nothing is working. I have stayed the exact same weight for 2 years no matter what I have tried. Some sites say dont try and lose any weight during perimenopause because your body is retaining the oestrogen in fat cells and wont allow fat burning, but others say that they have managed weight loss during this phase. Even if I could lose 7 lb I would be ecstatic.

Is anyone else going through the same thing, or have any advice? I am so angry that my body wont comply, especially when I could be going through this for 10 years.

I don't know that anyone here will have a real answer for you.  Most of us here just have opinions.

Every woman is so different during peri-menopause.   There is no one right answer.

However, it is really worth while to not use peri-menopause as an excuse for letting yourself get sloppy in your habits.  Use this site to help determine what your calorie level should be.  Then log your intake (calories) and your expenditure (exercise).  And then STICK WITH IT. 

It is really tempting to say "oh nothing is working" but you have to really KNOW you have given your options real time to kick in.  It can take time to get your body working in sync.  Especially if you have not been consistent lately.

I am going to leave it to others to address your caloric burn and intake.  I am pretty new at all of this and will not have the smartest advice.

Hi madamq, thanks for reply, this is my point, I have stuck with it for 2 years.I have filled many note books with food logs and calorie intake all this time, Ive always had a deficit of between 500-800 cals a day. I am definitely not using anything as an excuse, I have been determind as hell and never gotten sloppy in my efforts.

Maybe I have cut calories for too long, although I did try eating for maintenance for a couple of weeks just to add change. I dont think I have a thyroid problem the symptoms just dont ad up there. Im thinking about severely cutting cals now, I have to force my body to start using fat somehow.

I can totally empathize with you!  I am 43, 5'4, 167 pounds and no matter what I do, I seem to just gain and lose the same stupid 5 pounds.  Like you, I am eating healthier than I ever have and am exercising regularly, doing both cardio and strength training.  If I had done this even five years ago, I'd probably be at my goal weight by now.  I am beyond frustrated, but can't give up.  I believe that perimenopause is to blame and so I have made an appointment with a nutritionist/herbalist.  I will be meeting with her next Monday for a 90 minute consultation and I'll let you know what I find out.  I am praying that she has some answers!

Hang in there!!!

skibbles42,

I have had some of the same problems.  No weight loss, night sweats, mood swings, hot flashes.....etc.  I started looking for info anything and everything I could get my hands on.  So far I have found some help.  It may work for me and not for you. You should really go see your Doc.....but I will tell you where to start looking. 

I Started with "The Wisdom of Menopause"  by Christiane Northope (I think that's her right last name).  Like Oprah I use  it as my bible for my body.  Some really good info in that book.

The second thing I found is some cream I use 21 days of the month and it seems to be keeping me on an even keel.   It is called"Neways, ENDAU"  Harmonizing Cream.  I started using an 1/8th of a teaspoon for the first 2 months and am up to 1/4 of a tespoon on my 3rd month. 

The last thing I have done is really rev up my supplements.  Most of all my vitaman D,  Calcium ,  and Omega 3, 6, 9. Also, I started exercising 6 days a week and eating mostly fruit and veggies.

So far I have had most of the night sweats stop,  I'm sleeping better,  I have started to lose the weight I gained in the last year. The mood swings and hot flashes have pretty much stopped. 

Everyone goes through it differently and needs to work through the trial and error to find out what works.  For the most part you need to do a complete mind shift  and life style change.   But if you make the right changes it can be fab after 40.......even the sex gets better.

I hope some of this will help you.  It's worth the work

Lesa

Hope you get some answers gabby, please post back later. i just feel relieved that I'm not the only one. I live in the UK and theres not much information anywhere, all I have learned is from US sites , thank god for the internet.

lesahayes your cream you use sounds a bit like what I am trying, but Ive only used it the last 3 months ( well Im on the 3rd month right now) Also, I take the same sort of supplements as you.

I dont want to go jumping the gun, but I think maybe I've actually lost 1 whole pound this week, it's such a shock, I think the scales are just broken or something, will only be convinced if I get the same reading in a few days time.

Just read a book called the 7 principles of fat burning by Dr Eric Berg and he says you cant lose weight until you get the hormones in balance first, and that certainly seems true for me. I havent put any weight on recently, the weight Im trying to lose is way back from my pregnancies, I so wish I had tried harder to lose it before my hormone levels started dropping but I never expected any of this to happen until I was at least 50!
 

Skribbles42,  sounds like your on the right track......just keep looking and asking questions.  Its your body you know it best!

Lesa

Hello,

I feel for you...really I do!  I'm 38 and have been in peri for the last few years, and having major symptoms for the last 6 months. I got a book by Jillian Michael's called Master your Metabolism and it is all about how to get your hormones in check to lose weight.  And it can be done naturally through proper foods and vitamins. Its worth a try if you have done everything else and its not working. Kudos to you because I would have thrown in the towel by now. Keep goin..it will come.

Best of luck!

I'm beginning to think that my hormones have played a part in my lack of progress as well. I'm moving towards early perimenopause (PMOF), and we are planning IVF in the next few months to TTC #1, because my hormones are so wacked out. We have our fingers crossed that it will work, but it's been nearly two years of confusion and frustration (not to mention the night sweats, spotting for literally 3 weeks at a time, mood swings, etc.).

Thanks for the book recs posted here--I might check a couple of them out.

I believe that hormone imbalances may account for a lot of our body's resistance to lose weight, despite "doing everything right."

I wish I could say that the doctor can help, but there seems to be just as much confusion about hormones in the medical community as there is with laypeople! :(

I've come back to update, been using natural progesterone for 5 months now and I've lost 4lbs in the last month. Finally after wasting my breath exercising and nothing was working 4lbs loss is such a huge relief because something is now working again.

No more water retention, insomnia,hot flashes, mood swings. It did take a few months to start working but am so glad I stuck with it. Once Oestrogen is balanced with Progesterone fat burning is allowed, without progesterone everything is stored as fat, no matter what.