It doesn’t matter if you start out as a size 0 or a size 20; your body is going to change in menopause. I’m quite sure that one night as I was sleeping, the PM&M* alien came and put my body in a blender and turned it on high—nothing is where it used to be. I think that alien also shrank all my clothes.
I gravitated towards the looser clothes in my wardrobe, wearing the same things over and over. The rest of my clothes got dusty. I tried every diet, but didn’t lose a pound until I got my thyroid checked and hormones balanced. However, I have great news: in the interim, there are three magic answers to this problem:
- The extra-large plastic garbage bag.
Go buy a box of the largest plastic garbage bags you can find. Fill up the bags with all those clothes that don’t fit anymore and get rid of all that dust. My days were so much more joyful when I wasn’t looking at those damn clothes every day. It was so liberating! The good news is that if you get your hormones balanced, you might be able to fit back into some of these things. So, save the bags in your storage closet or garage. In the meantime, I went out and bought a couple of pairs of pants that fit me. I didn’t care what the hell size they were. I needed to feel comfortable. I threw in a few loose tops and dresses, and I was a new shmirshky!** - Spanx.
Spanx are sold everywhere. You wear them under your clothes to smooth out your figure. Think of them as a reverse balloon. Instead of blowing out and filling up, you’re sucking in and smoothing down. They’re incredible! At first, I thought that the smaller the Spanx, the better I would look. No! Do not buy Spanx so small that you break out in a sweat just struggling to pull them up. If you do, you will have a huge spillover at the waist. Plus, you will not be fun to be with if you can’t breathe. In fact, you will be a bitch on wheels. Remember, you got rid of the clothes that cut off your circulation for a reason. - A seamstress.
If you have some special clothes that you can’t get yourself to put in the large garbage bag or fit into with Spanx, get out your sewing kit or find a seamstress. Once, when I needed to go to a black-tie party, not one of my long gowns fit me, even with the “extra hold” Spanx. I sent out an SOS to a dear friend of mine for a recommendation of a good seamstress. I’d never met this seamstress before, but she immediately understood and fixed the dress for me. The Sisterhood to the rescue!
*PM&M: perimenopause and menopause
**shmirshky: vagina, woman
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I like the closet idea–I don’t have really too much but some stuff that I got and never wore recently went to Goodwill. I had two tiny short skirts that I would love to fit in again! But, I finally had to face the fact that I’m 57 years old and come on–nobody wants to see me in that type of skirt!!! As far as metabolism and appetite, it didn’t help me to read somewhere that appetite gets bigger after menopause! I’ve kept myself at a good weight for 20 years, but over last year managed to eat myself up 30 pounds! But over the past month, I’ve been dealing with a painful RA flare up and esophagus problem, that made me reevaluate my food and appetite. Finally, I’m shedding the extra pounds by eating an extremely healthy vegetarian diet, cutting way back on portion size and eating slowly and carefully. I still can’t get to exercise, but when I’m able I’ll be back in the gym getting back in better shape. It’s improved my outlook on life tremendously!!
There is a book I want to recommend, just was published, written by Kim Johnson Gross, author of Chic Simple series. It’s called “What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life.” Gross offere some great tips. She understands the emotional apsect of creating a new closet geared toward the changes we experience in life, including middle age.
My adult daughter has been to few parties where her friends bring clothes they don’t want and trade with each other. What a great idea! I’m in the pound a year club. I have gained a pound a year for the last 30 years….It just kind of sneaks up on you…it’s never enough to make the wardrobe too small before I get tired of the styles. I, too, have lost my flat stomach and now have pudge in the middle. Here’s what I do…I have a lot of black basics, tees, tanks, yoga pants, leggings, skirts. I top off the basic black with a funky hand crafted sweater, or vest, or tunic…maybe just a cool scarf, fun earrings. I also wear hand painted shoes…no one notices my pudgy mid-section because the eye is taken elsewhere. My look is age appropriate, with pizazz!
our bodies all “change” in different proportions. I am a seamstress and find that I regularily have to alter my own clothes to make them as flattering as possible. I have a terrible “tire” in the middle, but no one knows it because of the clothes I wear (and I dont wear tents). Most women dont know how to buy clothes to best flatter their body type, and even if they did they dont spend the money on a seamstress to tweek. Getting a seamstress is not cheap, but well worth it. I regularily buy jeans at walmart for $12 and then alter them. they then loook like expensive designer jeans with the perfect fit. Yeah, the alterations I would charge on that would be about $30 but that would be a total cost of $42 for a perfect fit pair of pants. but be careful, many alterations people only know how to do the basics. they dont know how to “sculpt the body”
Here are some additional ideas:
Go raw or at least primarily vegetarian… I lost 15 lbs just by eating mostly raw foods 7 years ago. Drink more water and cut out or lower your use of carbs, and fructose, which includes fruit.
Eat less overall. Try hot water with lemon in the AM, as a way to cleanse your body daily.
Try a product from Mannatech called Plus… it provides the body with the nutritional support to balance the hormones. I began this 15 years ago and still take it. It has definitely helped.
Have your T3 checked by the MD… usually they check only the T4 which can be normal but if the T3 is not ok, then your thyroid may not be working properly.
Get good nutritional support from quality supplements… D3, Vit C, Vit B complex, Magnesium, etc. Often a naturopathic doctor will have information that traditional MDs do not on supplements.
Sex can be great exercise and more fun than machines.
Move more, take regular walks, dance again. Who cares that we are not young, if we do what we enjoy, life can be amazing!!
Oh my gosh ladies….wish I had read this when it all started. I started a conversation on VN a couple of weeks ago with the topic…Muffintop. I think I have had about 45 responses. Check it out because it too is about all of the above. As I stated in my post….I am only 5′ tall….have always had to watch my weight but usually kept it around 105- 108. Then I joined a gym, started watching what I ate and got down to about 96. Then had a hysterectomy about 4 years ago and still was able to keep the weight off. Right around Jan this year I put on about 3-4 pounds and they are NOT budging. I think some of the ladies who responded felt like I was being a bit whiney but for me that is a big deal…it totally affected how my clothes fit yet going to a bigger size doesn’t work cause they are still too big. I took a lot of my clothes to the seamstress and had her let the crotch out for me. I just want to avoid gaining anymore weight and being able to enjoy myself when I go on vacation and know I can drop those couple extra pounds like I have always been able to do. The more info I received has made me realize that although I will always do my best to stay in shape, the fact is, my body is changing as I am getting older and there is just only so much I can do. God it is a sucky lesson. I just keep telling myself that ten years from now I will kill to look the way I look now and to start appreciating NOW!! Still hard to really do it though. Anyway…if any of you are interested…check out the muffintop chat…lots of conversation.
I loved all your posts and want to share my new discovery. I’m 56, gone through menopause, gained 30 pounds, no willpower, no likey exercise, tired and was hating myself. I found a smoothie recipe in First magazine and have been having one for breakfast and dinner every day since April 1 and have lost 7 pounds. I have a regular/lite meal at lunch at work and take an apple and a banana for snack.
Four years agao I had lost 13 pounds on Jenny Craig but it took over a year and I got tired of the food. Tried weight watchers – nothing. Went back to jenny craig in jan. 2010 – nothing. So these 7 pounds are like a miracle for me. The first couple weeks I was very lethargic but then I started perking up. I am not tired of them yet. I change out the fruit every day and I find that I’m looking forward to them now.
At first I wondered if this was healthy but these smoothies have been hugely benefial in a couple of other ways, too. First, I have been constipated most of my life (even when i was a kid) and I have had easy comfortable, normal bowel movements since April 1 (sometimes twice a day!!).
The other benefit used to have heartburn every night at bedtime and had the tums on my nightstand. As long as I have a smoothie at dinner time, I’m fine. If I eat a regular full meal – it’s heartburn city. Now my boyfriend is a wonderful cook and that’s probably a lot of the reason I’ve gained weight in the last nine years. but i really don’t miss that big dinner at night.
Oh – there’s a third reason that I almost forgot. I used to have problems with gas every afternoon at work and let me tell you, it’s rather embarrassing because I’m in a three person office!! Since April 1 – no more gas problems!!
And yes, I screw up sometimes on the weekends but if i get right back on it monday morning, so far so good. I believe I’ll be sticking with these smoothies for the rest of my life. The BMs alone are so worth it. hehe – sorry for the TMI.
I’ll post the recipe if anybody is interested.
vk
I also realized the losing weight is much more difficult after menopause.
I did lose 15 lbs in 3 months, before my son’s wedding, by following The Fat Smash Diet, which I posted about, if you anyone is interested in checking out:
http://suburbangrandma.com/health/detox-yourself-the-fat-smash-diet/
please do post the smoothie recipe vk….thank you.
Here’s the recipe, gigi:
1 scoop of Protein Powder (Lifetime’s Life’s basic on vitacost.com is the best tasting)
1 cup almond milk (or skim, soy or low cal fruit juice)
1 cup frozen fruit (or fresh but I’m lazy)
1 tbs ground flaxseed (or chia seeds or wheat germ)
1 tbs greek yogurt (or plain low-fat but the greek is tasty)
Mix in a blender and that’s it!
You can switch out to your own taste but I believe it’s the protein powder keeps me from becoming hungry.
Good luck!!
Thank you so much!
I finally now know why I can’t lose weight and continue to gain. my once firm body is turning to mush!! this is crazy. I have been on thyroid meds for years, and my dr. says all is ok. I cant do hrt so where can I find a good Dr. in Houston, Texas to help me thru all this stuff. My girlfriend has been having hot flashes for 10 years. has gained weight, now is on a gluten free diet and still cant lose weight.. any ideas… ps I HATE exercise..lol
I read all the responses to this topic. I am having an ovary removed next week and I decided to try Weight Watchers again, using normal food. I don’t want to weigh 151 pounds, 5′ 4″ at 60 years old, My goal is 142,but you would think that those 9 pounds were BONE and not fat. I move constantly just to keep the weight off. I mowe the lawn with a hand mower, I clip hedges with the old fashion hedge clippers, I paint, I clean and run up and down the staires (34 steps) from the basement to the second floor probably 20 times a day and still no weight loss. Weight Watchers here I come for real results! I’ll let you know how it goes in three months.
I have been trying for over ten years to get my body back. I am 63 and a personal trainer. I have tried everything from diet and exercise and even hormones. The hormones made it worse and I was miserable. So, in August I am getting an abdominaplasty with liposuction. Wish me luck.
I’ve read all these responses…..gained the same weight being discussed. In my experience it comes down to one very simple fact. You must take in less than you put out. If you refuse to exercise you have to eat like a bird. If you exercise regularly it increases your metabolism and you can eat more.IT’s really not complicated.As far as the mush factor it’s all about genetics and skin elasticity and how much you baked in the sun.I hate it for us….but IMO these are the cold hard facts!Now ….I’m going to the gym …..come join me!