Hi ladies,

I haven't been on this forum for some time. Busy with work, living, and maintaining. Here's a short introduction. I lost 35kgs (80lbs?) in 2006 and have now maintained my weight for 14months. I've put on 3kgs - but I see that as the amount I'll always be needing to get off - that will be my lifelong challenge - to get the extra 3kgs off. ( But I hope I can do it by Christmas!). My goal is 66kgs - and I'm at 69kgs now.

Now, I'm not sure if anyone on the forums has experienced this - but I've recently found out I'm going through menopause. I'm 45. One of my major challenges with maintaining is to not eat because I'm tired. I'll hit the bread or extra snacks when I'm tired (I suppose for that extra energy boost). Now that I'm aware that tiredness is a symptom of menopause - how can I treat that tiredness without food.

I get good sleep - however, it is generally broken sleep (now I know why!). But I don't want to take hormone replacements.

so, Ladies, has anyone been there trying to maintain while going through menopause? If anyone has any suggestions or can provide help - I will be truly grateful.

Hi Levrly and welcome to the wonderful world of menopause. Menopause happened for me while I was in the process of losing weight and became official about three months after I reached goal (I was only 47). My doctor felt that the large amount of fat that I lost and consequent hormonal disruption caused a premature menopause (estrogen is stored in fat and so I had a major estrogen dump over the course of a year).

So I've always maintained in menopause. I experienced all the lovely symptoms of hot flashes and disrupted sleep and when it got intolerable, finally my doctor suggested hormone replacement. Which works very well for the hot flashes but I still get the disrupted sleep (as you can see, it's 3:35 AM as I'm typing this ).

I have exactly the same problem as you -- overeating when I'm tired. Matter of fact, I don't think my body can tell "tired" and "hungry" apart. They feel the same to me. And yeah, sugar and carbs give me a temporary energy boost (but then I crash into a carb coma, which is worse).

I wish I had a brilliant answer for you about what to do, but it's something I struggle with too. I do a lot of self-talk and remind myself that food won't make me feel better, try to make myself sleep (ha!), and plan my meals in advance so there's no room for deviation. I think exercise helps with sleeping -- does it affect you positively or negatively?

I had a long talk with my PCP a few weeks ago about sleeping problems and she said that sleeping is a learned behavior. And that we need to reset the cycle if we've fallen into a bad pattern. She's not in favor of sleeping pills like Ambien because they can cause dependency, so she suggested a tiny dose of an antidepressant (about 1/10 what you'd use for depression) for a month to relearn correct sleep patterns. I've been afraid to try it though, so don't know if it works or not.

I wish I had an answer for you, but maybe we can muddle through this together. I have to say that it's my biggest challenge to maintenance too.

Ditto on everything Meg said- literally! I also have fibromyalgia in addition which affects sleep patterns. I was on miniscule doses of various anti-depressants to regulate sleep and it did work. The downside is that some cause weight gain- so you have to be extra vigilant. Talk to your doc about the side effects of various drugs if you decide to go that route. Ambien was a disaster drug for me, and it's not intended to be taken long-term.

Sleep is crucial to me being able to maintain and function in general.

Mel

I lost weight, maintained, regained and am losing again - all in menopause! I echo everything Meg and Mel have said. I can't say if it's harder - not having done it not in menopause, IYKWIM.

Meg - my DH as you may recall has serious sleep issues, and did try anti-depressants with mixed success. I wish they'd cause weight gain for him - poor skinny little guy. Currently he's on an anti-depressant (for it's usual purpose) plus ambien for sleep- seems to work better than anything else we've tried. When it doesn't, I may have to resort to hitting him with a baseball bat every night.

I am still losing during menopause, and I have had the same issues as everyone above. For me, food is not the answer (I have finally realized that). However - let me qualify that statement. When the tiredness hits, I grab a big glass of water and a protein snack. Then, I wait about 20-30 minutes and exercise. If I am at work, I take a short walk. If I am at home, I grab a video or the weights. It is hard to drag myself up to do it some times, but it always works. The caffeine and carb solutions are in my past. And it only took me 50 years to realize that they were temporary and poor fixes for my lethargy. Sometimes I can be pretty dense - LOL

CountingDown, it's similar for me. Water and a hard-boiled egg, getting on the rebounder, going for a short walk, my Callanetics or some yoga. I remember older ladies saying that you have to keep your blood moving. I now know what they mean.

I have to be careful and pay attention, keep track, and stay disciplined. The hunger, thirst, satiety, and tired/sleepy signals aren't healed yet. I have to keep that in mind, and make conscious, deliberate choices. When I choose out of reaction, rather than consciously, it throws me off balance, and can take me a while to feel good again. Pacing myself, resting when I need to, and exercise! are really key for me.

Thanks very much for the thread. I appreciate being able to read how others take care of themselves at this stage of life.

I don't really know where I'm at in the menopause phase but there have been definite changes in my cycle--21 to 24 days and my period lasts 10-12 days. I often feel like it's a 50/50 split which my gyn assures me is normal. I'm 47. Because I'm hypothyroid and have been on meds (it's under control) for 13+ years, I don't feel like I ever really had a normal cycle in my 20s and 30s. I usually only had 3-4 periods a year and they were HEAVY and long. Since on meds for hypo my periods are much more regular.

I can certainly second the tiredness/fatigue and interrupted sleep patterns (that seem to occur around my period). I seem to notice the fatigue more in the afternoons and have to be really mindful of my hunger. I too try to focus on a protein snack, although I usually add some caffeine to the mix. If that doesn't do the trick I have no problem taking a nap.

I went into peri-menopause at around 45 and then full on around 47. During the peri-menopause I gained all the weight I have now (almost ) lost after true menopause set in.

I too have the sleep disturbances and nothing I've tried (resetting sleep clock with altered behaviour, cutting waaay back on caffeine, anti-depressants, various sleep drugs/tranquillizers -no Ambien available here, going to a sleep clinic for 6 weeks, etc. etc.) seems to work.

I also overeat when I am tired. I have the combo of a really early waking time (usually between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m.) and a tough physical day outside which usually makes me most susceptible to overeating around 8-9 p.m. when I'm struggling to stay awake.

The answer, for me, was to turn the TV off. That forces me to either do household stuff, sit and read, or post on the computer in another room away from the food.

I also changed my late afternoon snack from carbs and diet cola (caffeine) to a 100 cal package of turkey slices.
That helped to keep me from eating before dinner. It's not pretty but it works and it's portable and I can eat it anywhere in about 30 seconds (I sometimes have to eat at other houses, in my car, etc.).

Dagmar

Dagmar, I've read of many other women waking up at 3:30 or 4. I'm glad now that I sleep that late. Before I cut out the grains and legumes I would often wake up as early as 1:30. I'm enjoying the 3:30-4:15 spell I have these days. I try to be asleep before 8 so that I'm rested when that internal alarm goes off.

Giving away my television was one of the nicest things I've ever done for myself.

I like your turkey-slices plan. Protein helps me get through until I can rest enough to know what I need to eat. I make hard-boiled eggs and often take them with me.

Em