Menopause belly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It is hormones. All women get thicker in the waist with menopause- even if you don’t gain a simple ounce. Fat/muscle distribution and proportions change with age

nope! I have never experienced this. Stop with the bleak, negative, doomsday talk that woman on here continue to spread which basically makes us all throw in the towel and eventually end up on Ozempic! I started on HRT the day I was 1 year without my period. I also continued with my already healthy lifestyle of daily workouts and low carb eating. I'm wearing the same exact size today as I did pre-meno and in some cases - smaller. My waist and hip circumference has decreased - I give credit to weight lifting. Women need to lift weights - heavy weights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This study! Which is technical but comes with a great graphic.

Summary: 16:8 intermittent fasting (TRE = time-restricted eating)
low carb diet + TRE gets rid of visceral abdominal fat (regardless of exercise)
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00332-9

TRE alone is better than low-carb alone

Could not agree more. Please try IF and low carb if you are struggling - it totally transformed my body after years of trying low calorie, or high protein, etc. and lift heavy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This study! Which is technical but comes with a great graphic.

Summary: 16:8 intermittent fasting (TRE = time-restricted eating)
low carb diet + TRE gets rid of visceral abdominal fat (regardless of exercise)
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00332-9

TRE alone is better than low-carb alone

Could not agree more. Please try IF and low carb if you are struggling - it totally transformed my body after years of trying low calorie, or high protein, etc. and lift heavy!

+1

I've said this time and time again on here only to get blasted. It works for me, clearly it works for you too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look it's not all genetic, its also about habit - learned habits and sustained habits.

I am a high waisted European (born in the UK) with narrow hips and hardly any waist at all. So when I put weight on I do so like a man, above the hips.

But recently I lost 30 lbs and I no longer have a belly. I had two children (back to back) so could do with being firmer but there's no belly. It's not hereditary, its not genes, it's LIFESTYLE.

You can fix yourself.

Are you menopausal?

I am 53 and waiting for it.

Ok, so check back 6 years post menopause. We are talking about body changes post menopause without HRT.

I am not expected to live that long but thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It is hormones. All women get thicker in the waist with menopause- even if you don’t gain a simple ounce. Fat/muscle distribution and proportions change with age

I don't think so. I've seen plenty of women over 60 who appear to have a narrow waist and not obvious belly. A few of my aunts are like that. I have a similar body type, so am crossing my fingers I don't balloon up and lose my small waist after menopause. I'm 51 and my midsection looks about the same as it did after I got back in shape from my last pregnancy, 14 years ago.

DP and sure, there are some women who won the genetic lottery when it comes to staying slim with ease. Most of us don’t.

They might look slim to you, but I bet they will tell you their midsection is thicker than it was when they were in their 20s/30s

That's fine, but it doesn't mean a formerly flat stomached, small waisted lady will turn into a barrel overnight as some have implied. Genetics plus healthy eating and exercise help keep the belly away post menopause.

[Anonymous]

I think PPs are right that low carb combined with everything else (exercise etc.) is probably the answer.
I’m 50 and genetically very thin—was a size 2 or 4 until my mid 40s. But late 40s have put 20 pounds on my waist even with walking 3 miles a day plus a fairly healthy diet and fewer carbs than I ate in my 30s. But I think I’ve decided I’d rather be a size 8 or 10 and eat carbs than a size 4 without carbs. I’m trying not to eat bad carbs — the crappy lunch sandwich at work— but I’m not giving up pasta, pizza, home made cake, brioche. I’m trying to mostly limit my carbs to dinner and sub out low carb at lunch.
Maybe I should be on HRT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think PPs are right that low carb combined with everything else (exercise etc.) is probably the answer.
I’m 50 and genetically very thin—was a size 2 or 4 until my mid 40s. But late 40s have put 20 pounds on my waist even with walking 3 miles a day plus a fairly healthy diet and fewer carbs than I ate in my 30s. But I think I’ve decided I’d rather be a size 8 or 10 and eat carbs than a size 4 without carbs. I’m trying not to eat bad carbs — the crappy lunch sandwich at work— but I’m not giving up pasta, pizza, home made cake, brioche. I’m trying to mostly limit my carbs to dinner and sub out low carb at lunch.
Maybe I should be on HRT.

You don't have to give them up, but you should only have these in small amounts and rarely. The cold hard fact is that we require fewer calories as we age. And 3 miles a day doesn't count for much if you are sedentary the rest of the day and over eating. You don't need hormones to reduce your waist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It is hormones. All women get thicker in the waist with menopause- even if you don’t gain a simple ounce. Fat/muscle distribution and proportions change with age

I don't think so. I've seen plenty of women over 60 who appear to have a narrow waist and not obvious belly. A few of my aunts are like that. I have a similar body type, so am crossing my fingers I don't balloon up and lose my small waist after menopause. I'm 51 and my midsection looks about the same as it did after I got back in shape from my last pregnancy, 14 years ago.

DP and sure, there are some women who won the genetic lottery when it comes to staying slim with ease. Most of us don’t.

They might look slim to you, but I bet they will tell you their midsection is thicker than it was when they were in their 20s/30s

Fat barrel, no, but thicker waist yea. It is just the reality of aging



That's fine, but it doesn't mean a formerly flat stomached, small waisted lady will turn into a barrel overnight as some have implied. Genetics plus healthy eating and exercise help keep the belly away post menopause.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It is hormones. All women get thicker in the waist with menopause- even if you don’t gain a simple ounce. Fat/muscle distribution and proportions change with age

Have you been to France? Japan? Etc. It’s how you eat and move.

Yes, and old women all over have get thicker midsections and thinner legs. At every weight. This is not a fat vs thin discussion.

This seems to ignore some basic physiology. Women who lift for their legs (so, have leg muscles), do abdominal exercises to maintain core strength and don't accumulate body fat don't. All of these things get harder as you age, but it's not a rule that being post-menopausal means you have a big midsection and thin limbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing. It is hormones. All women get thicker in the waist with menopause- even if you don’t gain a simple ounce. Fat/muscle distribution and proportions change with age

Have you been to France? Japan? Etc. It’s how you eat and move.

Yes, and old women all over have get thicker midsections and thinner legs. At every weight. This is not a fat vs thin discussion.

This seems to ignore some basic physiology. Women who lift for their legs (so, have leg muscles), do abdominal exercises to maintain core strength and don't accumulate body fat don't. All of these things get harder as you age, but it's not a rule that being post-menopausal means you have a big midsection and thin limbs.

With estrogen dropping you store more fat and consume more muscle mass. And lifting only slows muscle loss with age. Some muscle loss is inevitable. A 60 yr old woman’s body isn’t a 25 yr olds woman’s body. Lifting, good diet, maintaining weight all help slow signs of aging. But there just is a change in your physique post menopause, no matter your diet and exercise habits

[Anonymous]

There's no magic bullet, that's for sure. But a combo of weight lifting, low carb diet, and IF (18:6) has really helped. Do I have my 22 year old physique? No. But I'm happy with my shape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HRT

Yeah, no if you have had breast cancer

[Anonymous]

Zero alcohol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HRT

Yeah, no if you have had breast cancer

"Yeah" and most women know this. And no one is saying HRT is for everyone - that said the percentage of women have had BC is about 13% or around that. So surely the other 80%-85% might find HRT safe and very beneficial for so many reasons. Do your research.

[Anonymous]

Cutting out sugar