Weight gain

Hi Helen,

Funny I have been fixating on the same thing.  I've been in menopause for 2 years now but just within the last 6 months or so I have gained the 'menopot' as they say.  The weight is all around my hips and stomach.  I haven't changed my eating so I know it is hormonal.  I have never had to watch my weight (fortunately) but now I do.  I am starting to second guess what I eat and how much of it.  It is such a bummer...

I can so relate.. at first i was so ill i lost weight.. but now things have settled a bit and ive put on a stone .. like you eat very little... everything we eat at this time gets laid down as fat, reason for this is the body knows it can get oestrogen from fat cells .. so it cuts out the middle, meaning you have no energy, and just goes straight down as fat in your middle. Its soul destroying . You just have to eat as  low calorie as you can, and no sugar as thats the real killer. Keep as active as you while feeling like death. and just accept that at this time somethings are not under your control. You are only human!

yeah, it is awful!  Over the past 6 years in peri, I've gained 23 lbs.  I guess that would be a stone and a couple bags of pebbles   ??    I absolutely cannot stand it!  It's mostly around my waist -  I feel like a tick ready to pop!   Like "littleme1969" says: Keep as active as you while feeling like death.  That about it!  It's hard to stay in shape when you feel like death or sometimes I feel good enough to work out and then feel like death the next day because I did!!....and it's hard to lose any weight with your body fighting to keep the fat for the estrogen!  

I was always very thin and fit all my life  - so this is very difficult for me. 

I feel your pain, I gained a lot of weight once my periods reduced to every 3 to 4 months. A lot of foods don’t agree with me anymore and bloat me up. 

I have exactly same problem having gput on just under 2 stone all around my stomach and hips. I have overhauled my diet around same time as my weight gain, no processed food, no sugar except Stevia (as this doesen't effect sugar levels) I have started running again and doing pilates but strangely the weight has gone on since I changed my diet. I have had my cortisol levels checked & they came back normal, my blood glucose levels on the other hand has gone from 35 to 45 in under 8 months. My understanding is from researching

that peri effects insulin use in the body. oh and carbs are also a bad culprit in peri for weight gain problems (complex carbs are ok but in small amounts i.e brown rice, potatoes etc)

Can anyone who is on the other side of all this give us any hope that things settle back down to our normal weight again after all the struggles?

Hi all.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer. I didn't realise what the body does with the food we eat during peri. We really have to put up with alot in peri don't we? I will try to be more aware of what goes in my stomach as some foods don't agree with me. I hope we all soon find some relief from this time of life. xx

Has anyone increased natural estrogen in their diet, soya, tofu etc or by taking a supplement & found it helps?