Despite my best efforts, I do believe that menopause is taking its toll on me. Finally.
I'll be working with my doc on any other root causes over the next few months. Overall, I'm feeling good, but a little thicker or heavier, curvier. I suspect my diagnosis will be
One thing I'm really proud of, I never once sat down and played the pity card, the poor me victim card.
I didn't sit down and say, oh what the heck, I'll just go make some Paleo treats or go to Whole Foods and buy all sorts of Low Carb junk food. Hey, Lara Bars... I've missed you.... And honey, well that's paleo....LOL. Slip sliding down that slippery slope could be easy.I never once opened the door to binge eating or starting to repeat the old patterns.
It's been a super great lesson for me. I suspect my weight will fluctuate from the mid 120's to the mid 115-117 as I age. It is what it is. I do seem to feel better over all below 120. Time will tell.
Just proud of myself for not spinning out control. Getting of the yo-yo binge eating cycle demands walking away from the metal self talk that likes to drag you back to the pit that food addiction is. Glad I am keeping my eyes wide open, my food template on plan, and can operate on a more functional thought pattern.
Although it's easy to get comfortable at the lower weight, my 120's still has me answering yes to these questions from Dr. Berkeley's What Should I Weigh? How to set a Goal Weight article from last year. I can answer yes. I don't want to weigh more than I should, but I also have to not operate in such a tight range that I start in with the old self-talk.
Not letting me get me is probably the biggest gift that I can give myself as I get ready to switch into my 50's. Glad I stopped repeating those cycles.
What's working now
1. Weighing in and tracking the data
2. Keeping a food template that keeps my glucose mid- 80's and below, fasting and 2 hrs post.
3. Keeping self talk in check.
4. Working with my doc to make sure there are no other root medical causes.
What didn't work in the past
1. Hardly ever weighing in and finding I had gained 20-30 pounds when I finally did weigh in
2. Watching my fasting glucose get higher and higher each year and not removing sugar/high carb foods.
3. Telling myself I deserved a Skinny Cow ice cream, half a bag of candy on frozen yogurt. Because- it fit my WW points.
4. I would avoid the doctor and only go when I had to go, because I wanted to binge eat some more.
It is what it is. I'll be adding kettle bells to my exercise routine soon, so it will be interesting to see how my body changes over time. Adding in more strength can only be good as I age. Onward.
I admire your positive attitude, Karen! :-) Keep up the great work, and the best of luck going forward!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tess!!!! Time will tell for me. If I can use bio-identical hormones to escape the hideous bone loss that one side of my family has had in the past, things will be good. If it helps with other menopause symptoms, then that will also be good.
DeleteMy doc is very up-to-date, so she won't over treat me. I also may be over eating protein, too. So I'm going to n=1 that over the next 1-2 weeks.
This is a very good post. I suspect that once I hit menopause, I will gain weight, too. That's an added incentive for me to lose now. I see a lot of people who are normal weight gain with menopause, but they don't recognize they need to change their diets. But that appears to be necessary for many women. I'll be interested to see how your protein experiment goes.
ReplyDeleteTime will tell. I'm not sure that weight gain is always inevitable, but I do think my failure to shift away from a food template that served me well 5 years ago to one that serves me well now is probably a root cause. I would say conventional wisdom - eat low fat, eat whole grains, eat low fat dairy were all things that just were hard to shake. Legally, all my doc can do is say it quietly and under her breath. She knows the whole grain, morbidly obese me.....
DeleteDid anyone else see that heart healthy US News diet list?? It's going to get worse before it gets better... horrific!
I am now post menopausal and am just grateful that my weight is still at least 12 kilos less then my start weight nearly five years ago! Yes, I've gained but I seem stable. I tried HRT for a little while but it worried me taking hormones. I never went down the bio identical route either - I read up about it and it just didn't feel right taking them. I'm over the hump now and can move on. Not looking forward older age but what can you do?
ReplyDeleteLynda, yes! This!!! I think that the weight maintenance range can be variable. Stability. That's what I'm after. I'll be curious to see if my doc takes my health history and my current stuff and makes a good recommendation for me. I can see the pros and the cons for sure. I do think living your lifestyle - low carb, outdoors a lot, family, is the best of life, so bravo. :) Thanks for stopping by the blog.
DeletePrempro saved my sanity :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, Katie, I can see how that would be. There's no need for me to repeat the low estrogen effects from my family of origin.... LOL. Thanks for stopping by the blog. ... I need more cat photos.... ;)
DeleteKaren, I lost my 60+ pounds AFTER menopause. You can figure this out! Cheering you on.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good science experiment you are. I always learn from you. Wil be interested to see what you find.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vickie and KCalla- I got to goal weight the first year I started into menopause. I'm pretty sure I just need to ID the correct root- The last 2 days, I've lost 2 pounds.... rookie keotgenic mistake- too much protein... Hmmmm. I'm going to blog about it but I have to see if this shift is sustainable or not.
DeleteNot letting me get me during an uptick has been an experiment in stone cold food sobriety. Glad I didn't crack. LOL Me getting me was an old habit.....
"Stability. That's what I'm after." ... and with your 'What's working' points you are doing this...
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Your post got me thinking... I had a hysterectomy in June that also took my ovaries. I'm on Estradol (hormones). So I guess technically I'm in menopause, too. I will keep that in mind now that you mentioned this.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to try kettlebells.
Yeah, doc says bio-identicals won't help me and that because I dropped a lot of weight (so much!) that she said I have a higher risk of post menopausal gain. She did say that it's likely to level out soon... Plus, I'm still messing around with my Keto macros... so there's that. I'm super proud I did not go back to the SAD diet. It's all good. Thanks for stopping by the blog, Hollie.
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