eating right exercising not losing weight AT ALL

[metaforical401]

Hello, I'd love it if anyone knows of anything new regarding weight loss for women in their fifties.

I've always been in good shape, not skinny, but weighed around 130 to 135 my entire life.  I'm 5'7" and ran, worked out, skated, generally stayed fit all of my life.

Then, two years ago, I started steadily gaining a pound or two a month.  I did the usual, cut back on sugar and junk, exercised a little more.  Didn't see to have any effect at all.  After I'd gained over ten pounds, I got serious.  I keep track of EVERY BITE with a calculator made for this purpose.  I track my exercise, too.  Not only am I still steadily gaining a pound or two a month, but I feel like garbage.  I'm exhausted, ache all over and seem, despite exercise, to be losing muscle.  I've got this big ugly belly that I've never had before.

I've read all of the stupid online stuff about dieting.  Seems you are either eating too much or too little.  Not helpful.  I think its obvious that  my body is not converting fat into energy and I'd love to know if anybody has any info about what might be causing this and what I  might do about it.  My doctor says "You  must be eating more than you think.  You know soda has sugar in it." Like I'm an idiot.  Like I've ever drunk soda or any of that other junk.  He won't suggest anything or run any tests, so I don't even know if there is any information about this.  The internet has tons of ads for (obviously bogus) so-called 'diet aids' but I'm not going to jack myself up with caffeine.  

Any info at all about this would be very  helpful.  By the way, the weight gain coincided with menopause.

Thanks.

[Dr San Miguel]

Hi. As you get older, you may notice that maintaining your usual weight becomes more difficult. The hormonal changes of menopause may make you more likely to gain weight around your abdomen, rather than your hips and thighs. Hormonal changes, genetic factors and lifestyle changes can contribute weigh gain. In addition, muscle mass naturally diminishes with age. During menopause, there is an increased tendency for body composition to shift to more fat and less muscle—which slows down the rate at which you burn calories. For further advice,  I suggest that you see your doctor and fitness instructor. Hope this helps.

[deadgamegrrl]

Hi!
Menopause can definitely cause a slowdown of your metabolism, and the loss of estrogen will cause fat to be gained more in a 'male pattern' ie belly vs hips and thigh area.
If you cut your calories too much it will also cause a metabolism slowdown, since your body thinks it is starving and goes into fat conservation mode.  Also, your body will lose muscle vs fat.  I don't know what you are doing as far as exercise, but you need to be doing resistance training a minimum of 2x per week to build/conserve muscle.  If you are already doing weight training, consider upping the weight to challenge the muscles more.
Good luck!

[miracleofasingleflower]

i would consider taking a multi vitamin for menopause and possibly talking to your doctor about this because this could be a sign or thyroid problems or something else.