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Perimenopause Weight Gain?

I'm 44 (close to 45) and the past year, despite maintaining my regular excercise routine I've gained about 5-7 lbs.  It has been gradual over maybe 18 months.  I'm perplexed. Never had to struggle with my weight and have always been slender.  Have more 'fluffy' fat around my tummy but the weight gain is all over.  Is this normal?  What do I have to do to lose it - starve myself??  I am thinking of adding a few extra workouts per week to my schedule and try cutting back some calories. I've never had to deal with this before and just wondering if this is a normal part of coming closer to menopause. Help!
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Avatar universal
Barb, thanks for your information and advice.  I'm aware of the ACE guidelines regarding the closing tighter of the TSH range to 3.0 on the 'high' end.  I've mentioned it to my primary before and he's aware of it.  I have not had further testing T3, T4, etc because generally my energy level is good and I am not feeling like I'm dragging.  I think my doctor is more likely to treat based on symptoms that lab results since people have varying responses to their TSH, T3 and T4 levels.  I work with a woman who doesn't feel right unless her TSH is around 1.25.  For me, I think I'd be jumping out of my skin!   So everyone's response to their thyroid function is different.  I also worked with a woman whose TSH was 200 something.  Yes, your heard me right and that is NOT a typo.  She had become overweight (grossly so), slept about 12 hrs a day, had a puffy face and the classic puffy eyes you see with severe hypothyroidism, was having difficulty conceiving, etc but NO ONE event thought to do a simple TSH on her.   When they did, her doctor almost dropped right there in front of her. He's never seen a TSH so high and was shocked she had not had a severe medical event.  It took about 2 years to get her back to some semblance of normal but she is well now.   So I'm aware of thyroid issues and will keep an eye on it.

I have a book that I'm revisiting, Fit over Forty by Dr. Peeke, which gives very sound and scientific advice about how our bodies change in the perimenopausal years and why the way we eat and exercise needs to change as well.  What worked for us in our 20's and 30's is not going to continue to work for us in our 40's unless we change our eating, exercise and stress responses.  It's a lot of common sense info but it has the scientific info to back it up.  I love to read the 'why' behind things so this book is right up my alley.  One of her biggest tenets which I am going to try harder to subscribe to, is that it is pretty imperative to eat the majority of your carbs EARLIER in the day and not later. This makes a lot of sense.   The late night snacking, no matter how minor it seems, is usually the undoing of weight loss efforts.  Something both me and my husband have experienced first hand.  I've been trying to not eat after 5pm and not only do I feel better but I think it's helping my body metabolically as well.

I will absolutely check out the food diary here....how do I find it?  It sounds like a fantastic way to keep track of caloric intake and really get a sense of exactly what you need each day.  I have calculated my RMR (based on Dr. Peeke's formula) and it's only about 1100 calories/day.  With my exercise included, my caloric needs might be about 1600/day so I know I've often been exceeding those values!

Thanks again Barb!  
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
We know that as we age, our body changes somewhat; and sometimes, all it takes is tweaking things a bit; whether it be diet or exercise.

I always recommend the food diary here on Med Help - you enter everything you ate for a meal and the diary makes the calculations, based on the foods you choose.  Sometimes, being accountable for your calories is all it takes.  The food diary will show you at a glance, the areas in which you might want to increase your intake (low/no fat dairy or maybe "good" fats, etc); and it can also tell you where you need to cut back (saturated fats, simple carbs, etc).  

I would have to agree that your bags of goldfish could easily  have contributed to your gain.

It's partially because of  my own health issues (and subsequent "horror story") that I suggest/recommend that members rule out medical issues before making other drastic changes.  

In regards to your 2.5 thyroid level - I guess that was TSH?  You might not know this; maybe even your doctor doesn't know it, or if s/he does, is ignoring it, but about 8 yrs ago, the AACE recommended that the level for TSH be changed to 0.3-3.0, rather than the 0.4-4.5 or 5.0 that many labs still use; however, most labs and therefore, doctors, don't acknowledge the new standard.  In addition, TSH should never be the determining factor when diagnosing a thyroid issue; you also need to look at your actual thyroid hormones, Free T3 and Free T4, because if these are low in the range (particularly Free T3, which is the active hormone) your metabolism won't be what it should be, and even a minor slow down in metabolism can cause weight to gradually creep on.

All of that said, I must say that a 5 pound increase is not so drastic, so if you choose to try modifying your diet and exercise to see if it will come off, I'd say "go for it"; but do keep in mind those medical issues.  
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and considered response.  I do think that I have been a bit more lax in the past two years about my diet.  I have had some serious anxiety issues (generally under control) over the years and have no doubt that this, also, is probably contributing to an insulin resistance response.  When I was younger it didn't affect me so much but now that my body is getting a bit older, I don't think it handles the cortisol swings as well.   My thyroid was checked relatively recently and was 2.5 so I think it's okay (and yes, I don understand that some people get treat for sub clinical hypothyroid but doubt my doctor would treat at 2.5).

I exercise at least 4-5 days a week, 30 min cardio sessions and some weight training.  I would like to get more serious about my weight training and have been doing more of it in the past two months.   I think I do need to monitor my food intake as it is easy to think you are eating 'moderately', but when you really stop and add up the calories you're consuming, it nearly is always more than you think.

I think the initial weight gain happened last winter when I cut back exercising a lot and started snacking on bags of goldfish before bed (straight carbs!).  I gained about 3 lbs last winter and have added another 2 to that over the course of this whole year.  I have no doubt that my metabolism is changing and I do think I'm experiencing some hormonal wide swings (based on the way my body feels around my cycle, etc.).  I also feel that my body is more sensitive to water weight gain (premenstrual) this past year or two than at any other time in my life.  

If the weight gain continues, despite my efforts to eat a little more sensibly and workout a little more, I will consider seeing my primary care doctor or even an endocrinologist.  I don't think I've made the efforts I need to yet to justify doing that.

Thanks for your thoughtful response.  I think each woman's body responds differently to these years leading up to menopause and I don't want to ignore a thyroid issue but also don't want to jump to the conclusion that this is the problem either.  
Helpful - 0
649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Some people will say "yes, this is a normal part of aging"; I say "not necessarily".  I, personally, did not start gaining weight until my thyroid stopped working, when I was approx age 58 - I'd had a hysterectomy at age 46, so was well past menopause.  

Considering that we are all very different, it's really hard to say.  Hormone changes (all types of hormones, whether they be "female", adrenal, thyroid, insulin related) can all be factors.  In addition, the type and amount of foods you eat, type and amount of exercise you get are also factors.

Often, in an effort to lose weight, people cut back on food right away, when all they really need to do, is shift to different types - go for veggies vs bread; water vs fruit juice, etc. The type of exercise you do, also has a bearing on whether you lose or not.  May be that you just need to add some toning exercises to your routine to help get rid of that "fluffy" tummy fat.  

OR maybe you need to look at your stress levels and consider a possible adrenal issue - excess cortisol is known to help produce tummy fat.  In addition, tummy fat is also a characteristic of insulin resistance.  Thyroid issues also have a bearing, and even though you might feel okay, it's possible that your levels are off just enough to cause the weight gain, but not enough to cause you to feel bad.  

Maybe if you can give us an idea of what you eat, your exercise, etc, we can help figure out what's going on.  Of course, I would always recommend that you rule out health issues via proper blood tests and a complete physical.  
Helpful - 0
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