Hi everyone, I am new here, I need to lose about 15-20kg, I am at menopause now and gosh it is difficult. I tried weight watchers but could not get on with it and the smart points etc, and I have real reservations about the use of artificial sweetners, and the way they promote processed packaged foods. I used to be slim and train a lot until about 6 years ago! I now have high cholesterol so am dealing with that as well. My weight is getting me down, which then demotivates me. I am using my fitness pal and averaging aaprox 1300 calories a day. I am beginnig to think I need to cut out carbs, as this seems the only thing to work for me. I am also thinking of going on orlistat as well to kuck start the weight loss. Any advice would be much appreciated.
I need to lose between 15-20kg. - Weight Loss Support
I need to lose between 15-20kg.
Hi Reidyp,
Welcome to the Weight Loss NHS forum. I'd recommend having a read of our Welcome Newbie post (see the Pinned posts area to find it - right-hand-side of the homepage). The NHS 12 week plan is very good, so worth a look.
Maybe join us for the Monday group weigh-ins, plus any of the Challenges (also in the Pinned posts area).
Wishing you all the best with your goals, and a good week ahead.
Lowcal 
hi where is the weigh-ins group meeting?
Hi mmee,
Here is a link to this week's Monday group weigh-in - if you join before 18 00 this evening (Friday 14th October 2016) you'll be included in this week's stats - alternatively you can wait till the next Monday weigh-in, so if you do choose to join, then just do so when it's convenient for you:
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
Lowcal
Hello Reidyp 😊
Weight loss does become difficult during the menopause, but not impossible 😊 Have a look at the links lowcal suggests and also work out your BMR and target calories. MFP tends to be on the low side and eating enough is important for long term success. 😊
Carbs can be problematic but we do need some, best to stick to whole grain and eat earlier in the day 😊
Good luck ! I have lost 19 kg, it's taken over a year, but is worth all the effort 😊
Thank you.
Personally, I think you're on the right lines with carbohydrate reduction especially sugar. I have lost 23kg in just under a year, mainly by eating less carbohydrate but also reducing portion size.
I also think you're right about artificial sweetners, using them does nothing to modify the taste buds and remove the cravings for sweetNess.
I tried orlisat some years ago (not the overthecounter stuff but full strength via prescription) and it did little apart from increase bloating and looser bowel movements.
I think you have had some excellent advice here. I would maybe try low GI rather than no carbs at all. Sometimes restricting a food group can lead to a diet that is very severe and might lead you to give up. Maybe just start and see where you get to with low gi and calorie counting. My weight loss is very slow but going in the right direction 😀
Welcome - Like Lowcal I would also recommend the NHS 12 week plan. I has worked very well for me. I started in early June and have now lost 12kg. In the beginning, I lost quickly, but the rate has slowed down now that I am getting nearer to my goal (have a look at my profile to see what my journey has been like in a graph). 1300 calories sounds like a very low limit. If your body thinks that famine has hit the continent, your metabolism is perhaps slowing down?
If you would like to learn how to run, I would also recommend dropping in at the Couch to 5K forum healthunlocked.com/couchto5k and read some of the many stories of unfit people like myself (I'm 45 and was 15 kg overweight when I started the programme) and much older and more overweight, who used to be exercise phoebes but now run 3 times week and love it.
If running is too much for you at this point, just start by doing some brisk walking. As a rule of thumb a woman who weighs 80 kg, burns 80 calories pr km (either walking or running), so if you walk 5k, you burn 5 times 80 calories i.e. 400 calories. If you run, you burn a bit more, but of course you spend less time on it
I hope you find your way Finding this forum could be a very big step in the right direction. It is so full of great, supportive people.
welcome to this friendly helpful forum. I'm in my mid 60s and had tried many different weightloss plans, including WW, but am finding the NHS 12 week plan and this forum to be the best combination I've tried. I started at the end of August and have lost 11 lbs so far, it's slow and steady but it's change for the long term too.
All the best to you.
Leave the orlistat alone!!!!!!. My doctor put me on orlistat years ago, I was so terrified of the consequences ( read them) that I did not deviate one jot from the ' banned foods' . It didn't make much difference , I have come to realize that you have to cook everything from scratch. Leave the processed stuff alone, except for the Slimming World ones. I watch what I eat, walk at least 3 miles a day. I'm 67 , I'm still too overweight, I'm still trying.xx
Hi Reidyp I think you have hit the nail on the head really. The support from other members of slimming clubs is good but I too feel that's as far as it goes really. Don't forgot that it's a commercial enterprise. Cutting out bread and potatoes has made a massive difference for both my brother and I. I thought it unrealistic when he told me how the weight just dropped off him. I asked where do you get your carbs then and he said lots of the fruit and vegetables we eat have plenty of carbs in them. It's fundamentally a numbers game gradually reduce your calorie intake and gradually the weight goes. It has to as your body does not have enough calories to keep pumping the blood round to support additional fat reserves. Who said there is nothing tastes as good as feeling slim and the benefit that brings? Food is important but it is not our whole life keep busy drink lots of water when you're hungry the thought of food of passes. Sometimes I like the feeling of being hungry. There is a little man shovelling little bits my fat away to keep the furnace going when that happens. Keep it gradual though so your body does not go into starvation mode. Good luck and think slim!! X
I know exactly how you feel. I need to lose at least 4st, and am finding it extremely hard. I have cut down food portions, no longer fry anything, and eat lean meat with lots of steamed veg. I have even started to drink fruit teas instead of my usual tea with milk in it. I rarely eat biscuits, cake, or sweets, and I do not drink alcohol. Due to very painful joints, I only walk for exercise. I have only lost 7lbs in 9 months. I am thinking of going back to Slimmers World. I lost two and a half stone with them about 3years ago. My cholesterol is high too, and I have just been put on statins. Hope you can sort your weight out.
I'm not sure how much 20 kg is - is it about 3 stones? Anyway, if it's any help, I don't think menopause should stop you losing weight. I had quite an early menopause and I lost weight more successfully than I have ever done before during that process. I was disciplined and spent a lot ftime at the gym, but I lost weight at 1-2lbs a week which was fine by me. I think you have to keep your activity levels up as much as possible, and, if you are fit enough, push yourself to do more. Weight training type exercises are just as important as aerobic activity, to keep your muscle tone up, and keep your metabolsm as high as possible.
I agree with you re Weightwatchers - I do get the magazine, and it is amazing how many cake recipes they include, so even the home cooking they suggest seems to be high fat and sugar! I think they are right to say that we can eat anything as long as we control the portion sizes and calories, but I do think it is quite easy to have a heavily carb and processed food diet with Weightwatchers, and that's not good.
Hi yes about 3 stones, Thanks for your reply. I was beginning to think will I ever be able to lose weight. So it is possible even at menopause.
Hi Reidyp
The older you get the more likely you are to become insulin resistant, so cutting down on the carbs can be a really good idea, particularly cutting out refined starch and added sugars. What you eat is as important as how much you eat. Cutting out refined starch, like breakfast cereals, along with processed foods can also help lower your cholesterol.
My husband took Orlistat some years ago. Its side effects are pretty unpleasant and I wouldn't recommend it.
Thanks for this, I think I will give the orlistat a miss , there is a consistent message coming through on here re them. I don't want to chance it, and to be honest have concluded I can do this, through lifestyle changes,etc.
Hi I am new on here as well. I need to lose 2 stone. I am 47 at the menopause and have arthritis in my knees which can be very painful.. I have tried every diet under the sun but just seem to be putting on more and more weight. I have tried weight watchers but felt it promoted really bad habits also with its use of processed foods and artificial sweeteners. I am sick of bloody diets. I just want to be healthy and lose weight. I just look(I mean eat) one packet of crisps or bar of chocolate and I can put on 2lbs straight away. Is this my age ??? I am very active and I try to go to the gym at least twice a week. It is getting me down the harder I try the worse it gets. Anyone got any ideas. Thank you
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