Hi lou38, I too had a hysterectomy 5 years ago, I retained my ovaries, did you have yours removed?, not sure if weight issues are affected more with Ovaries being removed or not, but to answer your question and only from my own experience, hrt did nothing to help with weight gain for me, I weighed 10st before hrt, I now weigh 11st 5lbs,so i have gained weight, alot say hrt doesn't cause weight gain, it's down to menopause, I still eat well and exercise but I seem to keep gaining weight, I also get bloated alot and swollen legs on hrt, I've been on patches and now estrogel, I think it's very different for everyone and what side effects they do or don't get, same with menopause symptoms, I would definitely say hrt is not a good option just to try and control weight I doubt it would, but the leaflet that comes with my hrt lists weight gain and weight loss as a side effect, I would talk to your gp about a better option to control/loose weight, it will help with flushes, tiredness and libido so worth trying hrt for those issues.
Good luck