Menopause Matters Forum
General Discussion => New Members => Topic started by: elainediva on March 16, 2016, 07:50:16 PM
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hi im elaine and new here im 55 and still perimenopausal, i have periods but they are varying in length
and sometimes light sometimes heavy,
my weight gain has become worse in the last year(since i started missing occasional periods
i have bad food cravings.
cant have hrt 2 family members had breast cancer
taking bcomplex and magnesium
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:welcomemm:
Quality of Life is important. GPs have been given new guidelines regarding risks - many women were scared off taking HRT due to old research which had been mis-interpreted!
It really does depend on how badly menopause affects a lady. I had breast disease in the 1990s and know that had I suffered as some do I would have pushed for HRT - because that bus might be along tomorrow ;)
How is your diet generally? Grazing might help you rather than sticking to regular meal times. Lots of fresh fruits, veg., exercise, remain hydrated: breakfast is the most important meal of the day and eating lots of protein will help the sudden cravings. Eggs are back in the market as a source of protein ::)
Have a browse round, make notes!
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thanks CLKD, i eat cereal and toast for breakfast, a meat or cheese sandwich for lunch
with some fruit, i usually snack between meals(yoghurt, fruit, sometimes nuts)some chocolate
then a main meal with sugar free jelly and fruit
mid evening we have toast(i use danish bread as its light)
and a frozen yoghurt for bedtime
trouble i have is the days coming up to my monthly when i want sweets and more chocolate
and ice cream
will have to think about adding more protein i think
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Forgive me for saying this, but you are eating quite a lot and a lot of what I think of as occasional treat food which is high in sugars , setting you up for blood sugar swings and more cravings. Try cutting out some of the carbs that you are eating and replacing them with more fat and protein.. So a cooked breakfast with mushrooms and an egg , salad with some smoked mackerel for lunch, a small portion of cheese as a snack instead of fruit which is basically just sugar in a skin, have lots of leafy green veg with main meal and so on. As we hit the menopause our metabolism can slow down so we do have to eat less to maintain our weight.
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Hi elainediva
I know when I was menstruating I had bad PMS and that included food cravings especially for chocolate, carbs, etc.
At the time I did some research and found vitamin and mineral supplements really helped .
I found Maryon Stewart and the Women's Nutritional Advisory Service excellent- took additional magnesium for painful periods and chromium for sugar cravings, which made a huge difference to me.
Found an excellent multi vit and mineral supplement called Premetis from Nature's Best (available on line) and that really helped me.
May be worth contacting the WNAS? They used to do a fairly cheap consultation service.
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yeah i realise i eat rather a lot, at the moment im always hungry,will try to cut back on the carbs and add cheese sticks for snacks instead of fruit-- we do have green veg with the main meal, cant wait for summer to go back to salads
FRECKLES-- i use magnesium but i found the chromium made me feel dizzy.
i take b complex(100%) will look into that advisory service, thank you
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However: we don't know exactly the amount eaten so can't judge whether it's a lot/not!
Grazing stops cravings. The occasional sweet thing won't help as long as the person is listening to their body. When the bleed begins that craving should drop off. Slow release foods are important, plenty of protein.
There is no way that I could face a cooked breakfast :sick02:. I have to begin gently with my slow release muesli stuff then a light lunch and our evening meal. In between I snack on nuts, bananas, yoghurts, Gu pots ….. bread sticks, LIVe yoghurt …….
Hormones can affect hunger including thyroid function - did you have a blood test lately?
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i eat off a 8inch plate(smaller than a dinner plate)cereal is usually 30g. potatoes is usually 2 pieces
bread is small slices
CLKD i have bought some sticks of cheese to eat instead of fruit
i cant eat cooked breakfast either, looking after my mum makes it difficult i have to do things that are quick and easy
yes i had a blood test october she said it was ok, but i believe it was borderline for thyroid- it was 5- not sure what it means but i did
read online that 5 was borderline, i have to go again april/may and im going to get it checked again- they have to test for something else but will ask for tht one too
Stellajane if i dont have the yoghurt at bedtime i will get up hungry in the night and eat something i shouldnt, i used to eat a slice of bread walking up the stairs at 3am
im going to try some different yoghurts the ones i eat are fat free but the article in todayas womens weekly says eat full fat ones
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I don't weigh myself but know when my weight alters as my belt gets tighter ::). My GP weighs me annually.
I've also noted that my apron dropped which makes me look fatter than I am when I look downwards ……. but standing sideways in the mirror I look OK ;-).
Breakfast is the most important meal because the body has been in limbo in the night. Full fat products probably mean we feel fuller? It also depends for me what I've done in the day, how busy my dreams have been, whether I've walked or worried. When anxious I can't eat anything at all!
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Hi elainediva
Your thyroid - if your TSH is 5 - then that could account for some of your weight gain as well as the fact you are eating too many carbs as proportion of your diet and not enough veg/protein.
The treatable value is actually above 4.5 for TSH, and this is an arbitrary figure - some women will experience symptoms of low thyroid at below this. I would push for further investigation of this and explain the weight gain to your doc. Do you have any other symptoms eg feeling cold, fatigue/tiredness especially in the morning, dry skin, constipation? If I had a reading of that value I would be wanting treatment.
Boiled eggs for breakfast aren't quite the same as bacon and egg. Replace the breakfast toast with a boiled egg ( and no toast). You mention having green veg with your evening meal - our evening meal consists of veg as part of the dish eg curry/ and dahl, spag bol, chili beans, pork and beans, stir fry - all of these are mainly veg with the meat/beans. We sometimes have more veg with it as well. I have no spuds or rice. I have big bowl of home-made veg soup for lunch - can take this to work in wide-mouth flask. Freeze it in batches. Try eating a small handful of nuts instead of carbs as a snack. Yes to the yogurt to fill you up - but make sure it has no sugar in it. I eat the Low fat greek stuff from Lidl - comes in a big pot and I eat tons of it! Also cott cheese to put in soups - big dollop. OK to eat low fat yogurt but fat free ones are full of disgusting artificial sugars like aspartame.
Are you having plenty of exercise? Muscle at rest burns more than fat so if you increase muscle this raises your basal metabolic rate. Cardio exercise also helps to burn calories ( that's stating the obvious - sorry!).
Hurdity x
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hurdity gives some great suggestions there. I am diabetic so am a low low carber these days so if we have chilli for example, I'll serve mine on bed of mixed leaves with some grated cheese and some avocado slices. Ragu I have with courgettes made into fake spaghetti or more salad leaves. Roasted swede is lovely as a spud substitute and lower in carbs and we often have that with stew or roast dinner with cauli cheese which I make with cheese and creme Fraiche. Cauli curry is a lovely accompaniment to meat curry as is cabbage and carrot curry - you can also serve cauli grated and lightly stir fried as a rice substitute. Nice with spices and mushrooms added as a fake biryani.
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sweet potatoes are lower GI than baked potatoes, we like those.
We eat quite a lot, both of us, but our weight does not change and neither of us is overweight so we are clearly not eating more than we need. elainediva's diet does not sound a lot to me but it is all relative to an individual person's metabolic rate. My underactive thyroid is well controlled and monitored, but elainediva's sounds a bit like it could need attention.
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Aren't we a mine of Info.!
I love broccoli, fresh peas from the garden uncooked, spuds in any form, yams/sweet potatoes; raw cabbage chopped; celery when fresh, either cooked or nibbled with lots of salt. Sweet corn running with butter ;-). But I have to fancy them :-\
Himself puts fresh grated ginger and garlic with most of our meals particularly stir fry - both are good for us!
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mmmmmm, fresh pod peas are lovely :)
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when I saw meno specialist few weeks ago she said ineeded to stop eating so much and loose weight as it makes meno symptoms worse she recommended low carbs which I have been doing for nearly six weeks now. yesterday I had a home made berry shake for breakfast five cherry tomatoes and a tangerine for lunch and evening meal was a small salmon fillet with broccoli carrots pess cabbage I had no snacks and im not feeling hungry its not for everyone but it may be worth you considering
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gosh wtd, my blood sugar would be through my boots on that. It is less than I have for one meal although it sounds lovely.
Do you also take exercise as I always believed carbs are needed for brain function and muscle growth.
I used to diet by cutting out whole food groups but I never succeeded for long. I believe all food groups are needed in moderation to correctly balance the nutrients. don't make yourself ill.
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WTD - that's not enough to keep a sparrow alive! ::) have you lost any weight?
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initially a stone went in weight really fast but now im stuck at 12 stone and cant shift it. im a bit frustrated as im trying really hard.
I think exercise is the key I try to get to aqua fit twice a week and pilates but its all very much depending on my mood as in anxiety and depression as it stops me doing a lot of things none peri meno women take for granted. Ididnt thonk I wss that large Iim a size 14 but the specialist said my bmi was really high .
I can see the weight loss on my body as my waists smaller I measure it weekly now but its not showing on the scales.
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wtd are you aware that you can actually eat too little. It is a fact of life. If you have too little the body goes into starvation mode and will hang on to what it has. The metabolism then slows down and you need even less. It is a vicious circle.
This is not my opinion but facts I learned from a nutritionist when I made the same mistake.
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BJ I had forgotten that!
WTD - it's like me, anxiety puts me off even attempting many things that I enjoyed years ago >sigh<. Do you practice pilates? I have an exercise/walking machine thingy, it's full of stuff currently :(. The thought is there ::). ? treadmill ?
BMI has been pooh-poohed in recent years ::). If a person's blood tests for cholesterol, thyroid etc. are within normal limits and they are otherwise healthy ……….. you could pop into Lloyds for example and ask them to weigh you to give you a base line from which to work? Jot down the amount then get on with enjoying the days you are able to get out and about etc..
One needs to eat plenty of calories in order to burn off calories ;-).
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could that be why im not hungry and not loosing weight I have never been on a diet before so apsrt from following the low carb receipes I dont know what im doing. I cant have extea fruit as im only allowef two bits a day on her recommendation I havent had bread cske biscuits pasta rice potatoes in nearly six weeks im wondering what I can eat as a snack but low carb im not sure I can face any more cherry toms.
I cant have choc or crisps either .maybe I will get some cheese strings
I try to go to pilates class fri evening when I can its great I get a lot out of it.I think I have a lit on at minute with starting hrt patch trying loose weight come off my ads and looking for s job all while anxious so maybe I shoukd treat myself to a yummy easter egg . I have also had a headache four days and I did think it could be food related
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I suggest that you ask to be referred to a dietician, someone who actually knows about intake and output ::)
Cheese strings :-\ - a chocolate biscuit would do you more good ::)
This morning so far I have consumed:
one small dish of mueslie with a small amount of very cold milk (don't like milk)
1 mug of black tea with 2 sugars
1 chocolate biscuit with the 2nd mug of tea
Lunch will be either a heated through Cornish pasty (home made) with picalli (made by a friend) - 1 tablespoon of
or goat's cheese with Jacobs crackers and picalli
Followed mid-afternoon by Gu chocolate pot or a banana or 2 chocolate biscuits with black tea, 2 sugars
Himself will cook tea - curry, or stir-fried chicken breast with veg. or fillet steak with chips and broccoli - do you see any exercise in there ;-) - the only part of me exercising is my fingers ;D
I have walked gently round the garden and fed the wild birds. I have run up and down stairs with laundry 3 times since breakfast. I was going to walk to the village and back but it's drizzling hard >:( so that cuts out gardening too >sigh<
I have to hand should I feel peckish - Brazil nuts, short-bread biscuits, dried fruits …….
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I suggest that you have a look at the low carb section of diabetes.co.uk for some suggestions of what to eat when cutting out carbs. You are actually still eating a lot of carbs .. Fruit is really not that great for keeling blood sugar level- peas and carrots and cherry toms are also all quite high in carbs, you need to replace the carbs with fat. I know it seems counterintuitive but it is carbs that cause us to gain weight, have erratic blood sugars, high cholesterol. Read up on it. Sites like the low carb doctor are good starting places.
I've lost five stone low carbing and it does work. You are probably eating too little of too high carb foods which has stalled your weight loss. Try replacing the tangerine with a piece of cheese or an egg. X
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I was advised to take protein with every meal, even if just a few brazil nuts (high in selenium) with a banana
complex carbs and wholegrains give energy and prevent hunger - spelt pasta, brown rice, sweet potatoes are better than baking potatoes and eat the skins.
A much maligned meal is baked potatoes grated cheese and baked beans with a side salad.
I do advise you to ask to see a dietician because it sounds as though you need guidance and although we all mean well, what works for each one of us who post here, you have different needs and need to find your own level that will help you.
coldethyl well done on your sustained weight loss :)
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Any particular type of cheese? I have a passion for goat's cheese this week. Went 'off' Stilton ::) (which freezes well by the way).
I've had my heated through Pasty with picalli - feel stuffed now ;-)
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can't abide goat's cheese. Even taking a GC pizza out of the oven for daughter and husband makes me heave :beaurk:
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I'm like that corned beef :-X
Goat's cheese is much milder than years ago, I hate goat products that taste like goats smell ;D
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I am gaining weight too, probably partially due to peri meno but also eating too much chocolate. I love cream eggs and can't sto eating them!
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thanks everyone for your suggestions, i have to make an appointment in may for a blood test
to check my white cells(she thinks they have dropped a bit) so i will get my thyroid etc done again
and will try and talk to her about the weight gain again
yes i do get cold sometimes, and my hair is getting coarser but we thought it was meno related
have tried to swap veg for fruit and nuts for choc,but i think i reduced my carbs too far cos i was very headachy next day