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[elainediva]

hi im elaine and new here im 55 and still perimenopausal, i have periods but they are varying in length
and sometimes light sometimes heavy,
my weight gain has become worse in the last year(since i started missing occasional periods
i have bad food cravings.
cant have hrt 2 family members had breast cancer
taking bcomplex and magnesium

[CLKD]

 

Quality of Life is important.  GPs have been given new guidelines regarding risks - many women were scared off taking HRT due to old research which had been mis-interpreted!

It really does depend on how badly menopause affects a lady.  I had breast disease in the 1990s and know that had I suffered as some do I would have pushed for HRT - because that bus might be along tomorrow 

How is your diet generally?  Grazing might help you rather than sticking to regular meal times.  Lots of fresh fruits, veg., exercise, remain hydrated: breakfast is the most important meal of the day and eating lots of protein will help the sudden cravings.  Eggs are back in the market as a source of protein 

Have a browse round, make notes!

[elainediva]

thanks CLKD, i eat cereal and toast for breakfast, a meat or cheese sandwich for lunch
with some fruit, i usually snack between meals(yoghurt, fruit, sometimes nuts)some chocolate
then a main meal with sugar free jelly and fruit
mid evening  we have toast(i use danish bread as its light)
and a frozen yoghurt for bedtime
trouble i have is the days coming up to my monthly when i want sweets and more chocolate
and ice cream
will have to think about adding more protein i think

[coldethyl]

Forgive me for saying this, but you are eating quite a lot and a lot of what I think of as occasional treat food which is high in sugars , setting you up for blood sugar swings and more cravings. Try cutting out some of the carbs that you are eating and replacing them with more fat and protein.. So a cooked breakfast with mushrooms and an egg , salad with some smoked mackerel for lunch, a small portion of cheese as a snack instead of fruit which is basically  just sugar in a skin, have lots of leafy green veg with main meal and so on.  As we hit the menopause our metabolism can slow down so we do have to eat less to maintain our weight.

[Freckles]

Hi elainediva
I know when I was menstruating I had bad PMS and that included food cravings  especially for chocolate, carbs,  etc.
At the time I did some research  and found vitamin and mineral supplements really helped .
I found Maryon Stewart and the Women's Nutritional Advisory Service excellent- took additional  magnesium for painful periods and chromium for sugar cravings, which made a huge difference to me.
Found an excellent multi vit and mineral supplement called Premetis from Nature's Best (available on line)  and that really helped me.
May be worth contacting the WNAS?  They used to do a fairly cheap consultation service.

[elainediva]

yeah i realise i eat rather a lot, at the moment im always hungry,will try to cut back on the carbs and add cheese sticks for snacks instead of fruit-- we do have green veg with the main meal, cant wait for summer to go back to salads
 FRECKLES-- i use magnesium but i found the chromium made me feel dizzy.
i take b complex(100%) will look into that advisory service, thank you

[CLKD]

However: we don't know exactly the amount eaten so can't judge whether it's a lot/not!

Grazing stops cravings.  The occasional sweet thing won't help as long as the person is listening to their body.  When the bleed begins that craving should drop off.  Slow release foods are important, plenty of protein.

There is no way that I could face a cooked breakfast  .  I have to begin gently with my slow release muesli stuff then a light lunch and our evening meal. In between I snack on nuts, bananas, yoghurts, Gu pots ….. bread sticks, LIVe yoghurt …….

Hormones can affect hunger including thyroid function - did you have a blood test lately?

[elainediva]

i eat off a 8inch plate(smaller than a dinner plate)cereal is usually 30g. potatoes is usually 2 pieces
bread is small slices
CLKD i have bought some sticks of cheese to eat instead of fruit
i cant eat cooked breakfast either, looking after my mum makes it difficult i have to do things that are quick and easy
yes i had a blood test october she said it was ok, but i believe it was borderline for thyroid- it was 5- not sure what it means but i did
 read online that 5 was borderline, i have to go again april/may and im going to get it checked again- they have to test for something else but will ask for tht one too
Stellajane if i dont have the yoghurt at bedtime i will get up hungry in the night and eat something i shouldnt, i used to eat a slice of bread walking up the stairs at 3am
im going to try some different yoghurts the ones i eat are fat free but the article in todayas womens weekly says eat full fat ones

[CLKD]

I don't weigh myself but know when my weight alters as my belt gets tighter  .  My GP weighs me annually.

I've also noted that my apron dropped which makes me look fatter than I am when I look downwards ……. but standing sideways in the mirror I look OK ;-).

Breakfast is the most important meal because the body has been in limbo in the night.  Full fat products probably mean we feel fuller?  It also depends for me what I've done in the day, how busy my dreams have been, whether I've walked or worried.  When anxious I can't eat anything at all!

[Hurdity]

Hi elainediva

Your thyroid - if your TSH is 5 - then that could account for some of your weight gain as well as the fact you are eating too many carbs as proportion of your diet and not enough veg/protein.

The treatable value is actually above 4.5 for TSH, and this is an arbitrary figure - some women will experience symptoms of low thyroid at below this. I would push for further investigation of this and explain the weight gain to your doc. Do you have any other symptoms eg feeling cold, fatigue/tiredness especially in the morning, dry skin, constipation? If I had a reading of that value I would be wanting treatment.

Boiled eggs for breakfast aren't quite the same as bacon and egg. Replace the breakfast toast with a boiled egg ( and no toast). You mention having green veg with your evening meal - our evening meal consists of veg as part of the dish eg curry/ and dahl, spag bol, chili beans, pork and beans, stir fry - all of these are mainly veg with the meat/beans. We sometimes have more veg with it as well. I have no spuds or rice. I have big bowl of home-made veg soup for lunch - can take this to work in wide-mouth flask. Freeze it in batches. Try eating a small handful of nuts instead of carbs as a snack. Yes to the yogurt to fill you up - but make sure it has no sugar in it. I eat the Low fat greek stuff from Lidl - comes in a big pot and I eat tons of it! Also cott cheese to put in soups - big dollop. OK to eat low fat yogurt but fat free ones are full of disgusting artificial sugars like aspartame.

Are you having plenty of exercise? Muscle at rest burns more than fat so if you increase muscle this raises your basal metabolic rate. Cardio exercise also helps to burn calories ( that's stating the obvious - sorry!).

Hurdity x

[coldethyl]

hurdity gives some great suggestions there. I am diabetic so am a low low carber these days so if we have chilli for example, I'll serve mine on bed of mixed leaves with some grated cheese and some avocado slices. Ragu I have with courgettes made into fake spaghetti or more salad leaves. Roasted swede is lovely as a spud substitute and lower in carbs and we often have that with stew or roast dinner with cauli cheese which I make with cheese and creme Fraiche. Cauli curry is a lovely accompaniment to meat curry as is cabbage and carrot curry - you can also serve cauli grated and lightly stir fried as a rice substitute. Nice with spices and mushrooms added as a fake biryani.

[babyjane]

sweet potatoes are lower GI than baked potatoes, we like those.

We eat quite a lot, both of us, but our weight does not change and neither of us is overweight so we are clearly not eating more than we need. elainediva's diet does not sound a lot to me but it is all relative to an individual person's metabolic rate.  My underactive thyroid is well controlled and monitored, but elainediva's sounds a bit like it could need attention.

[CLKD]

Aren't we a mine of Info.! 

I love broccoli, fresh peas from the garden uncooked, spuds in any form, yams/sweet potatoes; raw cabbage chopped; celery when fresh, either cooked or nibbled with lots of salt.  Sweet corn running with butter ;-).  But I have to fancy them 

Himself puts fresh grated ginger and garlic with most of our meals particularly stir fry - both are good for us!

[babyjane]

mmmmmm, fresh pod peas are lovely 

[walking the dog]

when I saw meno specialist few weeks ago she said ineeded to stop eating so much and loose weight as it makes meno symptoms worse she recommended low carbs which I have  been doing for nearly six weeks now. yesterday I had a home made berry shake for breakfast five cherry tomatoes and a tangerine for lunch and evening meal was a small salmon fillet with broccoli carrots pess cabbage I had no snacks and im not feeling hungry its not for everyone but it may be worth you considering