I'm also struggling with this.

I'm 5'5" and have always been petite and athletic. Age 51 was the year that got me. I've gained anywhere from 5-10 pounds, depending on the day and depending on what I consider my starting point.

I'm trying to be OK with it, but I'm really not.

I eat mostly healthy, but I don't have a ton of willpower, and I'm also very active, so I need a decent amount of calories.

Anonymous wrote:The menopausal women I know who are very slim eat like birds. I mean very few calories per day.

I wonder if they're intentionally restricting or if it is just that the body requires fewer calories with age.

The menopausal women I know who are very slim eat like birds. I mean very few calories per day.

Anonymous wrote:I think it's impossible to stay the same size we were in our 20's or even 30's, unless you are obsessed with fitness or what you eat. I think it's fine to go up a couple of sizes and increase in weight from that time. I try to walk more often and eat very little in the evening, no snacking. But I would rather enjoy food than obsess over being the size I used to be.

Disagree. There are entire populations where women stay mostly the same size their entire lives.

It’s very American to assume college brings 10 pounds, then another…then more….then not losing the baby weight, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - In retrospect I think it has been *too* important to me to keep my shape (and weigh the same I did in highschool) - Even if I gained 5 more pounds I would still be in proportion. I just don't want to gain 20 pounds. And I need to exercise more for sure.

Body dysmorphia? Eating disorder?

Maybe? Maybe just someone who likes to fit into the $ clothes she owns?

The question is whether I should surrender and realize that my body is changing and that fighting it will be frustrating and fruitless. I think I got the answer that I was looking for - that I should size up in pants and try for "healthy and strong" not "keeping things the way they've always been."

I'm the PP who wrote that healthy weight adults who gain some weight in late middle age tend to have the highest longevity.

I just wanted to add that i think it can be helpful to try to embrace the new you and by clothes that fit. It's incredibly demoralizing to face a closet full of clothes that don't fit every morning. I lift weights 2x/week. do HIIT, do yoga, try to stay active throughout the day. I feel strong and flexible and am in good cardiovascular shape. I'm working on being OK with being a little heavier than I use to be.

Age 65.

F

I do dead bug exercises, lunges and squats.

Hey OP- I’m 56–but next month will finally be 1 year without a period.

What both my sister and I found (and many friends) was that year right before periods stop for good was when it felt like weight just kept easily packing on—but once things settled weight gain stopped and we were able to lose most of that weight again-neither with glps or HRT.

I never took HRT because I never had hot flashes or awful symptoms. My sister and two best friends were similar.

It will seem like you are on the bullet train to fatsville—but then things settle. My energy and mood also were so much improved once transition was over. I’m so much calmer now. That lower cortisol is probably part of it…and hormones like the Pill always had me bloated. I never get bloated anymore which is great. I certainly don’t want those hormonal symptoms back,

I do but I work very hard at it. I eat little to no sugar. Maybe a piece of dark chocolate 1-2 nights a week. I also exercise and keep my calories low. Age 57 and a size 4.

I think it's impossible to stay the same size we were in our 20's or even 30's, unless you are obsessed with fitness or what you eat. I think it's fine to go up a couple of sizes and increase in weight from that time. I try to walk more often and eat very little in the evening, no snacking. But I would rather enjoy food than obsess over being the size I used to be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - In retrospect I think it has been *too* important to me to keep my shape (and weigh the same I did in highschool) - Even if I gained 5 more pounds I would still be in proportion. I just don't want to gain 20 pounds. And I need to exercise more for sure.

So you need to be told to exercise more, when you know for sure you don’t exercise enough?

NP. OP, yours is a weird post. None of us can tell you how you should feel or what to accept about your body. If you are looking to strangers to let go of your body image and eat ice cream and avoid the gym? Permission granted. If you want a swift kick to say - you are not a child, of course, food choices and exercise have an effect on body composition, irrespective of menopause? KICK!!!

Your body shape might shape. I always struggled with weight issues but had an hourglass figure. Very big butt and thighs, big breasts and small waist.

It all went away in my mid to late 40s with perimenopause and then menopause and the weight in my stomach. I gained weight and a lot of it, all in my stomach. Diet and exercise had minimal effects.

When it started affected my health, I went on a GLP-1 and this has significantly helped to get a lot of weight off, still with diet and exercise. But now I have a different body shape. My stomach is still the larger part, which is so odd for me.

Exercise and eat healthy but enjoy that occasional sub. None of us need to only eat salads and starve for decades. Yes, buy bigger clothes and understand your shape might change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - In retrospect I think it has been *too* important to me to keep my shape (and weigh the same I did in highschool) - Even if I gained 5 more pounds I would still be in proportion. I just don't want to gain 20 pounds. And I need to exercise more for sure.

Body dysmorphia? Eating disorder?

Maybe? Maybe just someone who likes to fit into the $ clothes she owns?

The question is whether I should surrender and realize that my body is changing and that fighting it will be frustrating and fruitless. I think I got the answer that I was looking for - that I should size up in pants and try for "healthy and strong" not "keeping things the way they've always been."

You’ve had it easy. You deserve the weight. Enjoy it.

I've gained an enormous amount of weight. It's all in the abs. I look like I'm 9 months pregnant. Used to be 200 pounds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - In retrospect I think it has been *too* important to me to keep my shape (and weigh the same I did in highschool) - Even if I gained 5 more pounds I would still be in proportion. I just don't want to gain 20 pounds. And I need to exercise more for sure.

Body dysmorphia? Eating disorder?

Maybe? Maybe just someone who likes to fit into the $ clothes she owns?

The question is whether I should surrender and realize that my body is changing and that fighting it will be frustrating and fruitless. I think I got the answer that I was looking for - that I should size up in pants and try for "healthy and strong" not "keeping things the way they've always been."

Anonymous wrote:This is OP - In retrospect I think it has been *too* important to me to keep my shape (and weigh the same I did in highschool) - Even if I gained 5 more pounds I would still be in proportion. I just don't want to gain 20 pounds. And I need to exercise more for sure.

Body dysmorphia? Eating disorder?