Does My New Pooch Make Me Look Fat?

Let’s be clear - I’m not talking about a new puppy. Instead, this delightful “gift” arrived courtesy of my 52nd birthday: a brand-new menopause belly, seemingly overnight. If you’ve hit perimenopause or post menopause, you might be all too familiar with this phenomenon—sudden weight gain in the midsection, even when your lifestyle hasn’t changed. No, there’s no beautiful baby on the way, but it sure feels like it.

As if the pooch itself weren’t bad enough, it comes with a frustrating reality check: old weight-loss tricks no longer work. Remember when skipping a meal, cutting back on sweets, or switching to light beer could bring your waistline back in check? Those days are gone. In fact, I’m not even sure I have a waist anymore. Maybe it’s hiding?

And HRT won’t help here.  My doctor warned me as he prescribed hormone replacement therapy that it would help with many menopausal problems including hot flashes, brain fog and irritability…but it wouldn’t help with weight loss.  He wasn’t wrong…about any of it…but it still pissed me off! 

What can I do about menopause-related weight gain?

So are we destined to carry this front loaded fanny pack for the rest of our lives?  Despite a painful lack of data and research on menopausal women, there is an abundance of experts with suggestions.   They are credible doctors and clinicians.  They have patients with positive results.  They even have started research trials to start changing the tides.

The only problem is….they don’t agree on a solution.  So who do we believe?  What diet do we follow and what exercise program should we do?  We can’t keep completely changing lifestyle protocols every time a new podcast comes out!

I’ve learned a few things on my quest to return my pooch.  It’s a view from 100 feet up, even if I’m having a hard time seeing my feet.  I invite you to join me in solution finding – this is a work in progress.  We’ll start here with some very important scene-setters and in the next two blogs we’ll go deeper into different diets and different workout regimens.    

What do I eat after menopause?

The 70s called.  They want their calorie counting back.

Like me I know you survived the dating protocols through the decades.  In the 70s we ate less to look like Twiggy.  In the 80s we went low-fat to look like Christie Brinkley.  In the 90s we went low carb to look like Kate Moss.  We have learned that most of these tactics were bullsh*t and we know a lot more about nutrition and food science today.  And trying to be the skinniest is no longer the most important thing in the world – thank God!

But these diet modifications weren’t all wrong.  Perhaps they were just too absolute.

Recent diet philosophy tries to take us away from calorie counting.  It’s boring, unsustainable, and doesn’t account for the fact that 100 calories of apple is dramatically different than 100 calories of Reese’s peanut butter cups in terms of what it’s doing to your body.  But the math still matters. 

The hard truth remains that calories, which are energy measurements, are the foundation of weight gain and loss.  It may not be the foundation of health and nutrition – but the AMOUNT of calories coming in verses the amount being expended is still relevant when it comes to weight loss. 

So when we examine all the different diet suggestions to combat menopausal weight gain – underneath it all is different ways to reduce calories hopefully without you even noticing.  That can be done by changing what you eat, when you eat, or how often you eat.  The question is…what’s best for you?  Which solution can be accomplished with the least amount of pain?  Note – I’m using the term “diet” but referring to an eating plan to help accomplish goals.  It may be short term – getting rid of the pooch, or longer term to stave off more weight creep in the future.

Diet Dating with N of 1

Let’s look at dieting like dating.  You don’t marry the first good looking dude who calls you pretty….usually.  You have to go out a few times.  You have to eliminate many frogs.  You have to manage expectations.  Instead of “picking” a diet and judging it on a pass/fail basis – what if instead you committed to more of a trial and error process.  Like dating - it’s about expectations.  And one woman’s frog is another woman’s prince.

Suggest that you look at the available options, proposed by experts, and pick the one that seems most aligned to your lifestyle.  Commit to follow it for 3-4 weeks, with the full expectation that you will “date” another diet next month.   Find the right one on the first try?  Great!  Six diets in six months – also great….if you find the one.  Still looking?  Also great – as you are learning with each “date.”

Where do I start?

I strongly suggest that month #1 is not about making changes but assessing where you are.  Keep a food diary and get a handle on how may calories you are averaging now.  Personally I don’t think one week of this is enough.  My weekdays are pretty consistent but my weekends are all over the place.  A four week average will account for the retirement party, the “bad night” binge, and the norovirus episode. 

There are many free apps that can help estimate calorie counts and most have bar code readers for packaged foods.  There are also many places to get a good estimate on how many calories you should be taking in given your age, height, and lifestyle.  Suggest taking your current intake and the “suggested” and meet somewhere in the middle.  Reduce from where you are now – but use those formulas as a guide not an absolute. 

Who do I "date?"

In an upcoming blog we’ll dive into the most popular eating plan suggestions to help reverse menopausal weight gain.  I’ll give you the basics, an expert to check out, and any personal experience if I have it.   Wondering about intermittent fasting, Keto, Macros, Whole 30?  I’ve got you – plus a few more.

How do I work out after menopause?

The 80s called. They want their leotards back!

Jane Fonda and Olivia Newton John defined aerobic exercise in the 80s.  Then Linda Hamilton showed up in Terminator making us all want muscular arms.  Remember we called it Nautilus after the machines, but the heavy weights were still for the dudes.  

Today strength training for women is a common part of the exercise discussion…but how much, what kind, and what’s the balance with our beloved cardio?  And is this really about midlife or is this just about the evolution of exercise science in general?

Movement with the N of 1

Like with a diet plan, exercise regimes also come with variability and options making it unclear which is right for you.  Just like with eating….there needs to be some individual factoring.  The best exercise is the one you don’t totally dread!

But there are some basics we need to factor in.  YES you need to strength train after menopause.  We are losing muscle faster than a hot flash ruins silk pajamas, and our bone density is also quickly heading south.  These issues are mitigated by building muscle as best we can. 

Don’t worry treadmill babes and Zumba chicks, there is still a place for cardio especially as it relates to heart health, another organ suffering in midlife. But even that has had a facelift in modern times.  High-intensity interval training is the new cardio science.  Does that mean I have to do boot camp classes and learn to love burpees?

It’s the ratios we have to figure out individually – how much of each can we tolerate, or even enjoy, and what does that look like on a weekly basis when I barely have time to watch an episode of my latest streaming pleasure?

Where do I start?

Much like with your eating plan, we need to know where we are starting so we know how to improve without going overboard and ending up too sore to move or in the hospital.  Neither scenario bodes well for workout #2 never mind a lifestyle change.

Attached to your food diary this month, do a movement audit.  How many steps do you get regularly, how often do you make an effort to work out, and what kind of work outs do you do?  You don’t have to make changes yet, but it wouldn’t be bad to try and get a few more steps and figure out if and how you could get in more workouts once you know WHAT to do. 

Of course you should also make sure you are medically cleared to exercise.  Stop procrastinating on your annual physical – you know you made Dr. appointments for everyone in your family but YOU!

How do I move?

In an upcoming blog, we’ll dive into the most popular suggestions to help reverse menopausal weight gain through exercise.  I’ll give you the basics, an expert to check out, and any personal experience if I have it.   Wondering about HIIT, steady-state cardio, weight training vs. strength training, and what the heck is zone 2 or 3 anyway?  I’ve got you!

Should N of 1 stay solo?

Hell no ladies – we are all in this together.   Let’s share our experiences so we can learn from each other.   Isn’t the best part about a bad date (or a good one) is telling your friends about it.  We can laugh, commiserate, and hopefully celebrate.  Share our frogs and our princes.

Send me an email after you’ve tried a new diet or exercise plan for 3-4 weeks and share your story.  You can be anonymous or not – provide direct contact information for the community or not.  I'll only post what you say is okay. We’re all in this together and maybe we will ultimately find that there is a solution that is N of many.