My friend shared this really helpful podcast episode with me. I will be following a lot of Dr. Sims' advice from now on. I've already changed my strength training regimen and I'm incorporating HIIT again (something I previously did but stopped). https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-stacy-sims-female-specific-exercise-nutrition-for-health-performance-longevity

OP, I don't know what specific combination of diet+excercise is optimal for you, but I'll tell you a bit of what I (50yo) have done over the past year to improve my overall health.

1) Added a bit of protein to each meal - I consciously add a bit of protein to every meal. Example -- I used to each a piece of avocado toast for breakfast. Now I add an egg, or yoghurt, or cottage cheese. I eat 90% whole foods (veg, fruit, proteins, legumes, sometimes rice/grains). I don't track cals or macros, I just eyeball reasonable portions and make sure that there is some protein, fat, and fiber in each meal to keep me full.

2) Weightlifting - I aim to lift 3-4 times a week (1-2 upper body, 1-2 lower body). I don't do anything fancy - just try for 3 sets of 6-10, with the last rep feeling like I couldn't do another one without breaking form. I walk to a nearby gym, but you can do this with a few dumbells/barbells at home. I also take a weekly pilates class.

3) Walking - my neighborhood is very walkable, so I run all my errands on foot, carry heavy groceries home, and I go on a regular after-dinner walk.

I can do all of this for numerous reasons: 1) I now work mostly from home, 2) My kids are older (HS) and not overscheduled, 3) I started to feel perimenopause's impacts on my body and it motivated me to change my habits.

My weight hasn't budged in the past year (I wasn't looking to drop lbs), but I am stronger, I feel like my body shape has improved, I'm starting to see muscles in my arms and legs, my HDL went up and my LDL went down. This is sustainable for me because I'm enjoying the exercise, I'm feeling good, and I'm seeing the (slow) progress.

Anonymous wrote:To those posting about success losing weight in their mid-40s, I would note that a lot changed for me between 45 and 50. I lost 5 or so pounds without trying when I was 45. At 50 (really starting around 48), I have gained 5-10 pounds, and it will not budge pretty much no matter what I do. It’s different from any other time in my life and seems aligned with the full onset of perimenopause.

I’m saying this not to be discouraging—I’m healthy and fit—but just to make the point that a lot changes in just a few years, and we should be willing to adjust our expectations to focus on health rather than weight.

I agree with this. I'm 48 and have always been skinny ( my weight would be 99-101 lbs in my 20s). I was 112 lbs when I was pregnant at 38. At 45, I was about 107-110 average. At 48, I'm 115-119, I eat twice less what seems like I did just not long time ago, almost no processed food, no fast food, almost no sugar. It's getting harder to lose any extra 1-2 lbs, although, I don't really need to.

HRT - I couldn't build muscle until I started taking a low dose of testosterone. Also, I learned my thyroid was screwing up my metabolism, so getting that right has helped a lot. Also, I changed to a high protein diet and lifted heavy weights.

Anonymous wrote:To those posting about success losing weight in their mid-40s, I would note that a lot changed for me between 45 and 50. I lost 5 or so pounds without trying when I was 45. At 50 (really starting around 48), I have gained 5-10 pounds, and it will not budge pretty much no matter what I do. It’s different from any other time in my life and seems aligned with the full onset of perimenopause.

I’m saying this not to be discouraging—I’m healthy and fit—but just to make the point that a lot changes in just a few years, and we should be willing to adjust our expectations to focus on health rather than weight.

PP, and this is exactly why I am losing weight now - to get ahead of it before 50. I do not want to put on 8-10 pounds from where I am currently. If I lose another 30 now I will be okay with going back up 10 lbs.

Anonymous wrote:To those posting about success losing weight in their mid-40s, I would note that a lot changed for me between 45 and 50. I lost 5 or so pounds without trying when I was 45. At 50 (really starting around 48), I have gained 5-10 pounds, and it will not budge pretty much no matter what I do. It’s different from any other time in my life and seems aligned with the full onset of perimenopause.

I’m saying this not to be discouraging—I’m healthy and fit—but just to make the point that a lot changes in just a few years, and we should be willing to adjust our expectations to focus on health rather than weight.

+1 and all true. The weight really does stick around. What has worked for me to get rid of that 5-8 lb menopausal gain is a structured weight program (lifting as heavy as I can) and largely cutting out junk food and desserts. I snack now on prunes, edamame, nuts, yogurt. I realized that an 8 lb gain may not seem like a lot, but I am only 5'3" and small framed so it really affected how my clothes fit. Note that a lot of the exercise and diet changes came about when I was diagnosed with mild osteopenia a few months ago and I made lifestyle changes to build bone density and hopefully reverse (I am 54). The side benefit was losing the extra pounds, getting rid of the midsection weight gain (pants feel comfortable again and I don't have to worry about the bulge when wearing a fitted dress) - all without having to cut back on food, but just eating differently.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 44 and have lost 25 lbs in 3 months.

- drastically reduced alcohol, added sugars, and takeout

- increased produce and fiber-rich foods

- 10-15k steps per day, every day, no exceptions

- weight training 4x/week

- intense cardio 1-2x per week

To respond to the weirdly quoting poster. This is absolutely sustainable for most people. It’s not even that big of a time commitment versus mindlessly snacking and watching TV. The above is nothing more than a commitment to health.

Agree. This is a normal for me, whether I am in a fat loss mode or not. I exercise because I enjoy it and walking is a means of transportation for me, so that makes the steps easier. I realize this part might be harder for someone living far from work in a car dependent suburb.

To those posting about success losing weight in their mid-40s, I would note that a lot changed for me between 45 and 50. I lost 5 or so pounds without trying when I was 45. At 50 (really starting around 48), I have gained 5-10 pounds, and it will not budge pretty much no matter what I do. It’s different from any other time in my life and seems aligned with the full onset of perimenopause.

I’m saying this not to be discouraging—I’m healthy and fit—but just to make the point that a lot changes in just a few years, and we should be willing to adjust our expectations to focus on health rather than weight.

Anonymous wrote:I need to lose 10 lbs, but 15 would be ideal. I can typically drop the weight fairly easily over 8-10 weeks if I restrict my calories (My Fitness Pal recommends 1310 per day for me to lose 1-2 lbs per week) but the second I stop restricting I just gain it all back slowly over the next 2 months. Want to end this vicious cycle without having to count cals for the rest of my life.

A few things about me:
- 45 yo woman in the throes of perimenopause
- between working long hours and have 3 kids don’t have much spare time
- I don’t eat breakfast. I have coffee with with a little half and half until about noon when I have lunch

Open to any and all ideas.

You need to focus on maintenance and find your maintenance calories. if you need 2000 calories to maintain say 150 lbs then lost 15 lbs so you are now 135, if you go back to eating 2000 cal then you will go back to weighing 150 lbs. When you stop restricting slowly add back calories. until you notice you are maintaining your weight. This will take some time.

Also if you want to keep the weight off this has to be a new lifestyle. I've been doing this since I turned 40 and never looked back. It won't be easy at first, but it's 100% worth it. My friends always want me to tell them my secrets for diet or work out with them, but the secret is disciplen and staying consistent. It becomes a habbit.

Anonymous wrote:I need to lose 10 lbs, but 15 would be ideal. I can typically drop the weight fairly easily over 8-10 weeks if I restrict my calories (My Fitness Pal recommends 1310 per day for me to lose 1-2 lbs per week) but the second I stop restricting I just gain it all back slowly over the next 2 months. Want to end this vicious cycle without having to count cals for the rest of my life.

A few things about me:
- 45 yo woman in the throes of perimenopause
- between working long hours and have 3 kids don’t have much spare time
- I don’t eat breakfast. I have coffee with with a little half and half until about noon when I have lunch

Open to any and all ideas.

I'm your age and peri is just not that big of a deal. I eat 1200 cals a day most days a week, I might go up to 1500cals for 1 day. I work out 6-7 days a week for 1-2 hours. Pilates, power yoga, barre, abs class, and walking 1-3 miles a day. I do not lift weights but I do body weight exercises like pull ups (I can do 7 in a row), pushups, dips, handstands, ect.

I also do not usually eat breakfast but have tea and a green juice. I generally don't want to eat food until about an hour after my workouts, so around 12-1pm. Then dinner (can be at 6-7pm) and that's it.

Hi OP, I'm in a similar position. I'm 50 years old and have put on some weight in the last year. I tracked my food in an app for the last two weeks and got a Fitbit to better understand how much I move. I was surprised by both numbers. I was taking in way more calories than I thought, and I wasn't moving nearly as much as I would have guessed. I have always worked out, cardio and weights, but usually only a couple of times a week.

I've made some small adjustments to diet and started walking more intentionally. So far, I'm down 3 pounds in 2 weeks. I don't want to log food forever, but it has been a good exercise to establish baseline.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 44 and have lost 25 lbs in 3 months.

- drastically reduced alcohol, added sugars, and takeout

- increased produce and fiber-rich foods

- 10-15k steps per day, every day, no exceptions

- weight training 4x/week

- intense cardio 1-2x per week

Congrats on your weight loss but this would not be sustainable for most people.

That's not hard at all. Why on earth wouldn't it be sustainable? Many of us do it (or more) with jobs and life commitments.

PP's habits describes me, except my cardio and strength are switched. And I get closer to 15-20k steps/day.

NP. 20k steps a day is at least a couple of hours walking, plus 6 workouts a week. I mean, sure, it can be done but you can't spend 2 hours a day working out AND give 110% at a traditional job, even a hybrid one, cover a couple of tweens' chauffeuring, feeding, supervision, as an example of "why on earth" it wouldn't be sustainable.

Now, if you're fully remote and working 2-3 actual hours a day, and/or outsource cooking and cleaning and/or outsource parenting, and/or have older or no kids, yeah, that self-obsessed fantasy can be lived in middle age.

I’m PP who lost 25 lbs. I have tweens who require chauffeuring, and I work full time. As a result, I don’t have 2 hours per day to work out but I do have 30-40 minutes. At home - because I don’t have the time to go to and from the gym. Free weights from Target and YouTube workout videos.

I need to walk in place during conference calls to get to 10k steps during weekdays, but steps are steps. I also don’t outsource cleaning - but again, steps are steps.

The first two weeks were really difficult, but I now have more energy as a result of all of these changes, which makes everything easier to manage.

Walking in place during a conference call. Yes, that does sound like what is required and that just doesn't sound serious or sustainable, does it.

PP - it’s definitely not sustainable. Just like reading DCUM on an iPad while walking on the treadmill isn’t sustainable.

Anonymous wrote:This post shows up every other day. Pick a way of eating that you can keep up forever. Pick a way to exercise that you can keep up forever. Now go from there.

+1
There is no magical formula/diet/exercise for 40+ y.o. women. Pick from one of the thousands of suggestions out there, and eat less and exercise more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 44 and have lost 25 lbs in 3 months.

- drastically reduced alcohol, added sugars, and takeout

- increased produce and fiber-rich foods

- 10-15k steps per day, every day, no exceptions

- weight training 4x/week

- intense cardio 1-2x per week

Congrats on your weight loss but this would not be sustainable for most people.

That's not hard at all. Why on earth wouldn't it be sustainable? Many of us do it (or more) with jobs and life commitments.

PP's habits describes me, except my cardio and strength are switched. And I get closer to 15-20k steps/day.

NP. 20k steps a day is at least a couple of hours walking, plus 6 workouts a week. I mean, sure, it can be done but you can't spend 2 hours a day working out AND give 110% at a traditional job, even a hybrid one, cover a couple of tweens' chauffeuring, feeding, supervision, as an example of "why on earth" it wouldn't be sustainable.

Now, if you're fully remote and working 2-3 actual hours a day, and/or outsource cooking and cleaning and/or outsource parenting, and/or have older or no kids, yeah, that self-obsessed fantasy can be lived in middle age.

It doesn't take hours a day. It takes 1 hour, with bits of activity built in throughout the day. You also don't have to do 20k. When I was an elementary teacher, I woke up at 4:45am to get a run/walk in. Plus, you move your body all day long. Of course, it's hard if you don't make an effort. Nobody is going to put in the work for you.

I’ve been able to get the steps in by walking from 5:30-6:30 + 20-30 minutes during lunch.