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[Noheroicsplease]

Hi all

Despite being really strict about food - BORINGLY strict - and doing a lot of exercise, my belly looks bigger/spongier than ever. Is it a given that we'll get this? Is there no way around it?

And is it because of a drop in estrogen?

x

[dazned]

I think it's the dropping oestrogen which in turn causes the muscles to become lax,this leads towards the "pear " shape .

[weathergirl]

I've been very thin my whole life.  Never, ever worried about anything I ate and never had issues with weight gain. After 45 or so, I started to gain a little subcutaneous fat around my belly.  I had literally had almost a 6 pack my whole life as I am fit and exercise regularly.  At 51 now, I do have a little 'menopot' that will not budge. It is a 'fluffy' fat that is just under the skin, above the muscle.  I think that the body tries to store estrogen during menopause and we gain a little extra fat to allow for this storage.  It cannot be an accident that many women I know seemed to get a bit of extra weight around meno despite watching food intake, exercising, etc. 

[Maryjane]

I eat the Mediterranean diet ( all organic ) not a meat eater anymore just gone off of it ....and haven't pit an ounce on I'm also on HRT.

As we age we need to eat less and move more.

[Noheroicsplease]

What does the mediterranean diet include, MaryJane?

Trey - what do you mean, get less estrogen from products? I wasn't clear.

I eat very few carbs, tons of greens, moderate amount of nuts, organic meat occasionally, oily fish. Very very minimal sugar. Lots of olive oil. Hardly any dairy.

[Sooby]

I do a med diet / blood sugar diet and have lost weight rather than put it on.

Many years ago I recall an anthropologist proposing that the "Middle age spread" that women develop at the end of their reproductive life may be a subliminal indication to men that she is no linger a suitable mate. This was based on a theory that primitive males would be drawn to mate with women with a high hip to waist ratio as this would result in more reproductive success.

I dont have much experience of primitive men but from my experience of animals and occasionally testosterone fueled adolescents, the desire to mate seems to be more of an immediate urge rather than a discerning strategy for reproduction. 

So I'm not sure that I buy into this idea....

[weathergirl]

Although I agree about eat less, move more, if we don't eat enough, and exercise too much it is perceived as a strain on the body and sometimes weight stays put as a defensive mechanism.  I wish it was a simple in/out equation because if that was the case I would have dropped the nagging 5 extra lbs by now!  LOL!  For many, thyroid issues come into play (possibly even sub-clinical).

I don't have weight to lose, per se.  I was always very thin, so by most people's standards, they would think I was crazy to want to lose any.   It has just been an odd thing to actually have to watch what I eat and to have gained a bit in the past 4-6 years.  But I have read of so many women watching what they eat and getting enough exercise and yet still struggling with weight issues. 

I think it really ends up being just a very individual physiological experience - no two women are alike and no two ways of dieting or exercising work the same for everyone.   

[Yorkshire Girl]

Trey yes dairy products are full of hormones! I stopped eating dairy a few years ago to see if it helped my acne and to keep it at bay after various treatments worked, and it did so have stayed off it, but not in a very strict fashion!

[Butterfly22]

Maybe keep a food diary as I'm the same when I eat certain foods and was always flat as a pancake xx

[CLKD]

In the US hormones and antibiotics are used regularly in animal 'welfare', in the UK Vets. are staring away from that train of thought.  If worried, have a chat at your Vet. Surgery for advice?

I was 6st 2lb for years - then went up to nearly 9st which took me 14 months of daily walking to get to 8st 2.  14 months ago my apron dropped and it didn't bother me until 4 months ago when I can also see 'love handles' when I stand in front of the long mirror    .  I daren't step onto the scales .........

[Hurdity]

The "pear shape" is the classic female shape ie slim waist and larger hips - and is due to our abundance of oestrogen! When we become menopausal oestrogen falls and our body shape changes because fat tends to be redistributed around our middle - leading to the "apple shape" of post-menopause and the midriff bulge! I understand this is also partly due to the relative dominance of testosterone - because oestrogen decreases more than testosterone.

The decrease in collagen doesn't give rise to the differences in shape as that happens all over - but we go all floppy everywhere!

Metabolic differences as we age also account for weight gain meaning we need to eat less and exercise more just to stay the same weight. I have also noticed that women who have been slim all their lives gaining a thicker waist at menopause. Of course there will be individual differences - but the general trend is for apples! Talking of food I made soup yesterday and my apron dropped to the floor  . There is some information about weight gain here: https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/weightgain.php

You do see older women with pot/big bellies though - but I think this is down to loss of muscle strength so plenty of targetted exercise should enable you to hold it in hopefully!  Sometimes the progestogen part of HRT casues bloating too - not sure about effect on belly  . If your belly is really expanding despite all of this noheroicsplease - and you are not gaining weight perhaps check there is nothing amiss?

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

Muscle strength won't be returned by exercise.  The only way to get rid of excess belly is surgery.  Once that muscles drops it's gone  .  However, my love handles are another challenge 

[weathergirl]

CLKD, what makes you say that? I'm genuinely curious.  Muscle strength can be restored with the proper exercise. Absolutely! Weight training is what builds and maintains muscle. Cardio exercise will not. But you absolutely can maintain and build muscle even in menopause!!  I'm living proof as are many other women. 

[weathergirl]

What is this reference to the 'apron dropping'?    I'm in the US and have never heard of that term - LOL.

[CLKD]

Your Nan probably wore an apron/pinafore when cooking?  So my apron is from under the breasts which is the area a pinnie would cover ;-).  As oestrogen levels drop muscles may become lax which meant that my belly dropped  .  Downwards  !

Which muscle strength weathergirl?  How would one re-trieve belly that has gone South ....... swimming might help or very intense press-up type exercise, however 

I've never known what shape I am ........