Weight loss after menopause

It is so frustrating to keep losing the battle....the older I get, the more the pounds creep up on me and stay in place.  I guess not until I really make up my mind to do something about it, will I ever win ?

@Barb - you are right Barb.  I had thyroid taken out in 1985 - doctors put me on Synthroid.  I worked our all the time and had an excellent diet.  I maintained my weight until I went through menopause. I gained 25lbs in less than 3 months; then another 20 on top of that over the next 8 months.  

I have had every test doctors give for thyroid issues and I am supposidely within the range.  I checked the tests and I am at about 1.8 - however, since I don't know where I was before menopause, how do I really know that this is where I should be now?  Maybe I need to take more synthroid or maybe it is a different problem all together.

My cholesteral is at 165 - I don't have high blood pressure and dispite RA; stenosis; anakolsis spondylisis (and a few others )  :-)  I am still working out 5 days a week.  I have had to modify the way I worked out and what I did but I am still more active than 90% of my peers --- and yet the weight continues to climb.  

I have gained fat only - and in places I have never been fat before...that this most frustrating part.  So I say, f it - women are predisposed to gain a minimum of 20lb after menopause.  Trust me, I was very muscular so I don't buy into the "your metabolism has slowed down"  Why?  I still had the same muscle mass...I still ate well and adjusted my food intake when needed.

So what's the answer?  No one can tell me - they just say it's menopause and they move on.

[Barb135]

A clean bill of health isn't always what it seems.  We've seen lots of people with thyroid disorders that weren't diagnosed because, either the right tests weren't done or the reference ranges were flawed.

You might want to take another look at blood test results and make sure thyroid levels are high enough in their ranges for you.  Just "in range" isn't good enough, if you have symptoms.

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, I have been tested with a clean bill of health.  Just hard to work with this and see it through, since gaining weight was never a problem for me my entire life, until I turned 50 :-0   ---   Maybe will take you up on your idea for some exercise that is easy to do every day.  

[Barb135]

While changing reproductive hormones does tend to affect weight, you should also get your thyroid tested.  The older we get, the more likely we are to develop hypothyroidism, which is notorious for causing weight gain/inability to lose.  You need TSH, Free T3 and Free T4.

While you're at it, you  might also want to get tested for insulin resistance.

Make sure you eat a healthy diet and start a moderate exercise program.  Simply going for a brisk, daily walk can have enormous effect.

[mzrichee]

yes, it must be tough to maintain your weight, especially after menopause. and yes, if you don't do anything about the weight gain, it will just keep piling on.

are you currently on any kind of exercise regimen? and how is your diet? you don't have to do anything super intense of be on some crazy diet to lose the weight or keep it from piling on. sometimes by adding a brisk 20-30 minute walk a day can help keep the pounds away, or at least slow it down. you can even break them up into 10-minute increments scatter throughout the day.

good luck!