menopause causing a stall?

[Artemis]

I would really like some feedback on this as it is driving me nuts. I started Atkins about a month after I quit smoking and gained 10 pounds. During induction I lost 14 pounds, and I've kept off 10. The last 4 keep going up and down, up and down, up and down. I've lost some inches . . . but no more weight loss at all, no matter how low I take the carbs (no lower than 20/day, no higher than 40). So essentially I am back where I started, which is OK but I really want to lose about 30 more pounds. In the meantime I have begun menopause . . . and a few friends have told me they gained up to 30 pounds when they started menopause and as a matter of fact went on HRT to deal with the weight gain. So am I maintaining in the face of huge hormonal fluctuations? Is this good? I have been so discouraged. I do not want to take hormones, or start smoking again, or go off this woe. I could use some encouragement! Thanks . . .

[brosty]

Hi I'm kind of in the same boat as you although I believe I have already gone through menopause (realitively young 49 now) It's probably been a year or more since I've gone through it. I was on HRT for a few years and needed to be I couldn't deal with hot flashes!!Been off forabout a year and took an estrovan (over the counter) type thing for awhile and have stopped all medications. I did not gain weight on HRT but got alittle concerned with all of the other issues and felt I could go off. I've posted about the menopause issue myself and didn't get much of a response. I've been doing this since about Apr. 10th, lost 10lbs on induction and only 7 since and they flucutate daily-up or down- I eat "clean, but I think my metabolisim is SLOW!! My husband lost 35lbs in a snap! I need to lose 30 more pounds as well, I sometimes wonder if this is the right diet for me, have considered South Beach, but not informed enough yet. I feel as though I really am abiding by the rules of the diet so not sure what to do so I'm plugging along right now and praying for a miricle!!! good luck!

[Catheryn]

this menopause thing has really got me stumped. I'm going through perimenopause right now, and I can't lose even 1 lb. I just recently started doing South Beach, but am not losing weight. I really think that at this time our metabolism just really shuts down. If any one has had good luck losing at the time of menopause, please give us some tips.

[Artemis]

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one! I'm googling the subject today and seeing if I find anything else interesting. I think what I'm going to do is start a more serious exercise program. My younger sister has lost almost 50 pounds on Atkins and she does The Firm workouts and likes them a lot. I've heard that it's really important to do weight-bearing exercise to maintain bone density and muscle mass. I've been doing 60 minutes on the treadmill at least 5 days a week, alternating the incline, and I am building some muscle in my legs at least. I'm going to try The Firm and see what happens.

Don't get me wrong; I love this woe and feel better than I can remember feeling in a long time! But 45 just doesn't feel like 19 and I think I have to get used to that! Thanks!

[Catheryn]

I recently stopped taking the pill, but now I wonder if the extra estrogen in it was helping me to lose better. Ever since I stopped taking it, I have noticed that my stomach seems more bloated.

[bonniejw2002]

Brother! Did you ever hit on a sore point with me! Eight years ago, I lost 35 pounds doing OWL, no induction at all and the pounds came off. I was a size 4. Kept it off without a problem until menopause. I never changed the way I ate at all, and the weight began creeping up. I am now a size 8, which at 55 is not too bad, but still 15 pounds heavier. No matter what I do, I cannot lose those 15 pounds. I am on Estrace, which is natural estradiol, so no synthetic problems. This is what my gyn told me. Estrogen is made in the fat cells. When your body slows its production of the hormone, your body holds on to more fat cells to encourage as much hormone production as it can. Also, a bit of fat protects against osteoporosis which afflicts slender women more than heavier women. She also said that had I not been following this WOE, I would have gained much more weight. And finally, she said it takes much exercise at our age to lose/maintain weight; more like 60 minutes per day rather than 30. So lovely ladies, we need to stop striving for runway slender bodies and opt for a more voluptuous form.

[JuliaL]

Artemis - I'm in the exact same boat as you. I am also in peri-menopause and also recently quit smoking. The combination of the two definitely causes a slow down in the metabolism. Having said all of that, yes its great that you are maintaining, but you really can lose more. Just be patient, stick to your woe, and change up your exercise routine, and you can break through your plateau. It worked for me. I also do The Firm, and have noticed huge changes in my body since I started. I'm actually a little heavier now than when I first started weight lifting, but I wear a smaller size and just look more fit and toned. The Firm is great! And weight bearing exercise IS very important for building bone density, especially in women.

Hang in there - you can do it! Granted, it won't be as easy to lose as it is for a 20 year-old (or for MEN ), but it can be done. I'm living proof of that.

Congratulations on your loss AND your quit!

Julia

[tresa]

I've been looking for information on this also. From July - December 2003 I had lost 25 pounds. Slowly, it has all come back.

I was having hot flashes and night sweats and just generally felt miserable. My doctor checked my hormone levels and told me that I'm post-menopausal and suggested that I take the hormones.

I've heard a lot of things about the hormones, but frankly, I could not take not sleeping and generally feeling miserable. I have tried and tried to at least get back to where I was with no success.

So I don't know if my unsuccess is due to taking the hormone pills (prempro), but I don't see an alternative. I tried taking black cohosh with no luck.

I would sure like to hear some encouragement from someone who has been through this and succeeded.

Tresa

[la.lady]

Hi,
I am really glad that you started this thread.
I too have had a hard time taking off more weight.
In fact I power walked 4 miles a day for five to six days a week for 3 monyhs and I didn't lose 1 lb.
I really believe that when you get older, it is harder to lose. Especially, if you are taking meds, too.
I am 57 and when I was 29, I tried this diet, and I lost 17 lbs. in one week.
I don't know, but I would like to hear some success stories.
Maybe we can learn something from them.

[Banshee5]

Add me to the list of "Now that I'm older, weight loss is a MAJOR struggle." I'll be 53 in August. I have a doctor appt. tomorrow...I went off the pill in May....and all I do now is loose/re-gain 2 lbs.

I have just started to exerise....but I have a feeling even 30 min isn't enough to lead to weight loss. I've had to cut calories too!! So far, I managed to keep 2 lbs off.....Gee....only another 33 POUNDS to loose.

We'll be testing FSH to see if I'm in menopause or not. That will determine if I go back on the pill or start HRT.

BTW: In my 30's, I started putting on weight (AGAIN!!) and all I did was cut out vending machine sandwiches/snacks...also I was having peanut butter with jam every day for a snack. I stopped eating vending machine items and the snack....and brought my lunch..no calorie counting or any other changes. In 1 month I lost 10 lbs. No exercise either. What a difference 20 years makes!!!

Now I have to starve AND EXERCISE hours and hours....just to loose anything and KEEP it off. I've done ALL the experimenting..Atkins, (more and less carbs, etc.) S Beach. Now I'm limiting calories to 1200 MAX.....moderate to low fat....no starchy or sugar foods. It's like I don't use calories any more so everything is stored.

[Sharon]

I'm finished with the whole process now. But what I wanted to say is that last year when I decided to lose some weight, I had a man tell me that I couldn't lose weight because of my age (58-then). I proved him wrong and now he's on SBD.

[Catheryn]

Originally posted by la.lady

In fact I power walked 4 miles a day for five to six days a week for 3 monyhs and I didn't lose 1 lb.

I walk 3 miles a day, 7 days a week, and still can't lose a pound. This is so beyond me. HELP!!!

[CartBabe]

Just as a note of encouragement......I had a total hysterectomy three months before starting Atkins. I DO believe it has made the journey more difficult, but, NOT impossible Now, two years later, I still have the memory of how difficult and slow it has been BUT a great sense of accomplishment that it COULD be done. When I started out, I thought, well, I never weighed below 130 pounds even when I was a kid, so now, postmenopausal, I won't be able to get below 135. Now I wear smaller sizes than I have ever worn in my life, and have made it into the 120's for the first time since I was 11 years old. So, yeah, I think it is harder, but do not for a second, any longer believe it is impossible

[Catheryn]

Originally posted by CartBabe
So, yeah, I think it is harder, but do not for a second, any longer believe it is impossible

Can you offer us some tips? Do you execise? Can you post a typical days menu? Thanks

[CartBabe]

Okay, well, regarding exercise. I am SO BAD I really really TRY to exercise, but I have yet to become a faithful routine exerciser. I KNOW it is absolutely a requirement. I just have NOT mastered it yet.
Sample Menu:
Brunch: 5 slices Kroger no sugar added bacon
2 fried eggs
OR
low carb waffle (made with flax, protein powder, psyllium husk,etc) with small amt of butter, and walden farms 0 cal 0 carb syrup....the best IMO)
4 slices kroger no sugar added bacon
Supper: 4 oz. meat
1 cup of salad or green vege
2 tbsp drsg (or none)

9PM snack: 2 oz cheese
OR
1 oz. pork rinds
OR
2 oz. meat (plain)
OR
2 flax muffins (from recipe room)
OR
NOTHING

105 oz. water/day
loads of supplements
2 diet sodas/day


We work 3-11 and this is why the odd meal schedule......the 9PM snack thing is to replace the third meal, and to have something to take with my supplements

[bonniejw2002]

You look fab! Did you need any kind of surgery for loose skin? Your weight loss was so dramatic! You are an inspiration.

[CartBabe]

No surgery....but I sure would like it for my abdomen. Yicky! hehe.....there is a lot of hanging skin there, but, i have noticed that it gets a little better all the time. They say you should give it a year to see what happens.....how much the skin tightens up

[O2BSLIM]

Hi All - This is my first post but I've been lurking for months. Dr. recently confirmed that I'm in full blown menopause. Yes, I'm having a very difficult time losing any weight but have managed to maintain, for the most part.

Just wanted to know if any of you have this problem with your GUT! Mine is huge, bigger than ever before. I can't get into any of my pants that I wore while at this same weight several months ago. I have lost some inches other places but not my lower tummy. I believe that it's the menopause that is causing me to expand in that area. Any others having this problem????? Does HRT help this problem?

So happy to find others in menopause that I can talk to (that actually understand).

[Catheryn]

What is going on with the whole tummy thing? It has never been this bad. This is scaring me.

[tiva]

To increase your metabolism during perimenopause, walking (or other light cardio) won't do it. Walking is great for other things, but it's not going to help you with weight loss now. You need to build muscle, and that means low reps of heavy weights, or else some exercise against resistance (I kayak a lot, but there are lots of other options). Don't mess with 5 lb hand weights--they're a joke. Get 10 lb weights, or go to a gym, and lift the heaviest weights that you can do for 8 repetitions. Most trainers BS women, and let them get away with wimpy light weights. That won't do any good. Use your muscles! Sweat! Train for a marathon, or bike across your state to raise money for AIDS, or aim for a triathalon. It's fun, and it will increase your metabolism.

[Catheryn]

Tiva, I took your advice and used my resistance training machines last night. I really worked harder than I have before. Today, I am down 2 pounds! This might just be the magic bullet. Can you enlighten us a little more? Thanks

[centralpa]

Hi--

In my interview for my Atkins success story, I actually focused on the pre-menopause issue. Here's the link, if you are interested:


http://atkins.com/Archive/2002/12/17-739187.html


For the last year I have followed Fat Flush, Ann Louise Gittleman's lo-carb program. Atkins believed that Fat Flush was the 'next evolution" of lo-carb. Ann Louise wrote the program just for women at our age, to deal with menopause symptoms, to lose & maintain weight loss, and to get rid of cellulite & fat on the stomach, hips & thighs.

Fat Flush has 3 phases & restricts dairy and salt; you use flaxseeds & flaxseed oil and no other fats. There are additions such as lemon juice and cranberry, and a vitamin regimen that are specifically designed for menopause.

She is BIG on the RIGHT KIND of exercise for us too. Fat Flush is the only way that I've been able to lose that last 15 pounds and MAINTAIN it.

If you're interested, do a google search & several websites will pop up.

cheers,
wendy

200+/135

[Tall_Texan]

Just wanted to know if any of you have this problem with your GUT! Mine is huge, bigger than ever before. I can't get into any of my pants that I wore while at this same weight several months ago. I have lost some inches other places but not my lower tummy. I believe that it's the menopause that is causing me to expand in that area. Any others having this problem????? Does HRT help this problem?

O2B - I say it gives a whole new eaning to "middle" age! Yes, I have this spare tire around the middle that wasn't there when I was this weight before, hence most of my old jeans are tight in the waist. I am still peri-meno, so no HRT for me. I truly think the only way we are going to combat this is exercise *sigh*.

[nonstickpam107]

TRESA,

You have a HUGE alternative to what you are taking!! Instead of the Prempro -----which is made from pregnant mares urine and synthetic progestin!!

Even if your doctor isn't into "compounded" bio-equivalents, you can easily switch to the Vivelle Dot (that's estradiol, an natural estrogen that is found in the actual human body) and a trandermal natural progesterone cream to oppose the estradiol (so your uterine lining will not build up, and ALSO to prevent hypothyroid(. The reason many peri- and post menopausal women go hypothyroid because of a lack of progesterone and estradiol....but you certainly do have a lot of options.

My endocrinologist gives me an Rx. for compounded Bi-est (estradiol and estriol, the two little estrogens from the body) and cream progesterone. If you would like to learn more about bio-equivelent hormones, call around to the different pharmacies in your area and ask if they compound. If they do, ask to speak to the compounding pharmacist. It's what they do for a living....they can steer you in the right direction...tell them you are interested in knowing who rx's them.

HTH

Pam

[JuliaL]

Just thought I would share that there is a great website for menopausal women called powersurge.com - you should check it out.

From what I've read, as we age our bodies stop making as much estrogen so the fat tends to accumulate in more of a male pattern, around the belly. But its not insurmountable - I've seen a lot of improvement in my belly since I started doing regular resistence training.

Here's a recent article I read that explains more about the benefits if weight training:

Strength training has many benefits

PAM KELLEY


I get lots of press releases. I trash lots of press releases.

But I admit to perusing one with extra care recently when I read about sarcopenia, or the muscle loss that occurs with age. I had no idea that it begins around age 45, which seems awfully early, maybe since it happens to be my age.

In our mid-40s, I learned, we begin losing about 1 percent of our muscle mass each year. Experts attribute the loss partly to the loss of nerve cells that link the brain to muscles. Levels of hormones that stimulate muscle growth also decline.

Less than 20 years ago, experts thought muscle loss was an inevitable part of aging. We get old; we get weaker. It's harder to climb stairs, lift groceries. When we lose muscle, we also burn fewer calories. So we get fatter. It's a downward spiral that can make us sedentary and frail, that can lead to falls and to nursing homes.

In recent years, though, researchers have discovered something wonderful. We can minimize muscle loss, if we're willing to do about 40 minutes of strength or resistance exercises two or three times a week. You can do them at the gym, using free weights, machines or resistance exercises like push-ups that use your body's weight. A new study also concludes that elderly people can get similar results by exercising at home.

One author of that study, Miriam Nelson, a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University, is a leading strength-training evangelist. She published her first book, "Strong Women Stay Young," (Bantam Books, $15) in 1997 and now has five others.

Nelson's books have sold well, but she says she's still waging an uphill battle. Only 3 percent to 5 percent of middle-aged and elderly adults do regular strength training. Women are less likely to do these exercises, she says, but they need them even more than men, since they start with less muscle and generally live longer.

Benefits extend beyond gaining strength. Often, these exercises can ease arthritis pain, since stronger muscles act as a shock absorber, supporting and cushioning joints. They can help you lose weight, since building muscle increases metabolism. They can even help fight disease. When you're sick, the body burns more protein, pulling it from muscles and using it to heal and build antibodies. More muscle means more ammunition against illness.

Maybe you do aerobic exercises, like walking or running, and figure that's enough. Nelson says that's a great start. But aerobic exercise doesn't build muscle like strength training. I do strength training once or twice a week. After reading about sarcopenia, I realize I should do it more often.

Nelson advises using heavy weights to get results. Heavy, of course, is relative. A 3-pound weight might be heavy to a 90-year-old woman. Weights are sufficiently heavy if, after 10 or 12 repetitions, you find you can't continue in good form. If you can repeat an exercise easily 15 or 20 times, increase weight or resistance.

To learn about Nelson's books, go to www.strongwomen.com. Click on "fitness programs" at the bottom of the page, then "start vibrant aging," and you can watch animated examples of strength-training exercises.

[tiva]

That's great, Catheryn!

[bonniejw2002]

I read it and it's so restrictive!!! Even worse than Atkins induction. How do you get through it??? And the cran water; I can't even drink regular water. Is that the only remedy to menopausal weight gain? How depressing.