Some obstacles with supplements
 

Hi all,

Still following Atkins Induction and due to menopause I need to take supplements such as a Mag/Cal/Vit. D. which contains carbs (I stopped taking it) and I finally found a different type that only has 2 carbs per serving once a day.

I have also been suffering from constipation and feeling bloating so that's been a problem for me. I think this new supplement will help with that because of the Magnesium. Anyway, I still weigh the same amount.. I wonder if menopause is slowing me down.. I know my metabolism is not what it used to be, thus the exercise for that too..

So that's it for now,
Toby

Everything I've been reading says that menopause makes it nearly impossible to lose weight and very very easy to gain a lot of weight. When I look around at the women about my age, and those who have gone through menopause, it seems they gain on average about 20 lbs. during that transition. I guess the hormones and everything really makes the fight so much harder. So I am trying to be gentle with myself that the scale isn't moving as fast as I would like. I really do believe I am still losing fat as I can see that the fat stores in my upper body (tummy, arms, etc.) are shrinking slowly but surely, but the scale seems stuck and bounces around by several pounds from day to day.

I've been tempted to just go on a complete starvation diet, but I'm trying to tell myself not to do anything dumb like that, to just be patient and give it time. At this point in my life, going through the change and also being hypothyroid, weight loss just is not going to be all that easy. I have to keep working on it and be patient.

Anyway, don't feel alone in that battle with the menopause wanting our bodies to gain. It's awfully hard. We just have to stay strong I guess.
:) We can do it!

Hi ladies! I went through menopause about 7 years ago and I have lost 70 pounds in the last year. I know many people lose more in that time period, but I just keep plugging away, so I know it can be done!

Wow, good for you, CJ! Thanks for letting us know it can be done! I'm not quite on the other side yet, I'm in the middle of the change and really find it a struggle sometimes, weight wise and otherwise.

Thanks ... you make me feel better. There's a thread going on now on how long it took people to lose 100 pounds, and all of them seemed to have taken like 8 or 9 months or even less! Made me feel sad that I had lost only 70 pounds in a whole year.

But I always just say "You can't fail if you don't quit!"

I had about a year of hot flashes during the day when I hit menopause, but that seemed to be my main symptom. It was really funny because I was dating a new guy at the time, and I kept turning his car a/c off, then on, then off, then on.

What kinds of symptoms do you have?

I also think that's great that you lost 70 pounds, good for you! I am losing, not as fast as I would like but I am determined..

In one of the chapters of Dr. Atkin's book he writes about obstacles and recommends taking L-Carnitine. I am still doing research on that and may order that supplement and give it a try. What I really need to do is get a full checkup and get all my levels checked including insulin just to be on the safe side.

Oh, hot flashes! I had them during peri but now that I recently reached full menopause they stopped.. My body does everything backward, LOL!

I can accept that menopause will slow down my weight loss but I am not stopping this diet. Will just watch every carb that goes into my mouth and keep exercising. I refuse to let menopause control my body.

One of my best friends suffered badly from hot flashes and blash cohosh helped her. Goodness, what women go through! I can honestly say that peri was much worse for me compared to full blown menopause, my body is not as confused anymore hormone-wise (at least I hope not).

Toby

i have been in perimenopause for over 5 years, and have finally seemed to have stopped cycling, so I hope I am there, over 6 months since my last period. But the weight sure doesn't want to shift, even though I can see I am more fit and muscled and have been losing fat. Definitely have a different shape. I find soy is my friend for hot flashes, so I am still getting about 30g carbs a day because I take a glass of unsweetened soy milk daily. Better than a drug, and if it slows me down a bit on the weight loss, so be it. I can't live with the hot flashes without it!