Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: floraljo on November 29, 2022, 07:18:30 PM
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Hi,
Since spring I've gained a lot of weight on my belly. I'm otherwise very slim. I'm 41 and diagnosed with perimemopause recently. I suspect hormonal involvement. I've been going to the gym more in the last 4-6 weeks and no change in diet.
I've just started estradot. I'll start utrogestan in 2 weeks. My testosterone is low (0.7) and I'm considering androfeme for that.
Did anyone find hormone replacement reduced belly fat and helped with weight? I'm feeling very gross.
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Is it 'fat' or has your apron dropped? Mine did - due to loss of oestrogen which is the elastic of our bodies. When laying down I'm flat, by mid-afternoon it's beginning to look bigger!
How often do you weigh yourself?
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I think it is fat? If I'm lying down, it wobbles! I can pinch it! If I suck in my abs, it wobbles on top.
I rarely weigh myself because I'm very slim. My personal trainer said I shouldn't lose any weight. I think it is hormones perhaps.
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I wobble in all the strangest of places ::)
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Yeah …..it is hormonal I think. As oestrogen drops I believe the body tries to compensate by storing more belly fat (these fat cells produce a small amount of oestrogen).
At least that’s what I keep telling myself!
I’ve only put on about 1/2 stone since I was 40 (now 46) but my body shape has changed massively. It’s all round boobs, belly and hips.
I’m afraid HRT made it worse, not better!
A lot of it seems to be water retention too which makes it look worse. After two kids my stomach will never be pristine I know but yes I’m starting to really hate it! I can randomly lose 2-3 lbs day-day sometimes which tells me it must be water. Salty food makes a definite difference to the bloating (increase).
My bmi is still 22-23 so I’m just aiming to keep within that. As CLKD often says, eating little and often really helps with the blood sugar crashes and energy problems I seem to get sometimes nowadays. Yet in total I am eating much less than I was a few years ago. But it’s a struggle to keep weight down still.
I am just accepting it for now and hopefully once hormones stable after meno I can perhaps lose a little weight if I still want to. It’s just hopeless to try now with everything so unstable. I’m just trying to eat healthily and maintain healthy weight. And not go up a clothes size!
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Morning all - VanillaLover - I read similar in a magazine that I picked up in Waitrose yesterday.
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I found hrt helped but mostly because in untreated peri I turned into a snarling couch potato, too tired and fed up to do anything. Once on hrt I was able to be more active. I think body metabolism slows down around this age which makes it harder but for me hrt has made all the difference. With the assistance of a recent bout of diarrhea courtesy of the Bolivian jungle I have the same body shape I had when I was 20, it just sags a bit more :(.
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I've definitely lost fat on my belly since being on Oestrogel (with no other changes to my diet or exercise regime)....it did take about 6 weeks to start noticing the difference though.
However, the Oestrogel is causing my hair to shed. So it now feels like a toss up between being slimmer again or having less hair. Pretty miserable at that choice because in all other ways it was going well.
Good luck on the Estradot.
Sarah