hi all , listen, i keep hearing that you GAIN weight during peri, and i have as well...but then, i seem to also sort of loose it too, .. not DRASTICALLY, but i notice that I'll start to sort of slim down for a while, it's weird. I notice that I'll start to loose that tummy I have, or my legs will get thinner, or whatever...it doesn't happen overnight, but it can happen within a few weeks. Sometimes, there have been reasons, such as being more active, orther times, not! So, the question is, does anyone else here loose weight during peri?

I guess hormones can control that too right? so, i figure if your hormones are off, then i guess that can affect your weight too. I don't really eat to much, or not eat to much....and yet, I seem to loose weight and inches. AFter I get ahold of myself, thinking i have some deadly disease which is causing the weight loss, then I realize, it's got to be hormones...bec. i feel ok, otherwise, well, I never feel ok anymore due to peri, but you guys know what i mean.

thanks ladies.

I lost weight because I went into such terrible anxiety about the whole situation (peri), I couldn't eat like I used to. I suddenly couldn't finish a meal.
I couldn't eat certain foods anymore. It is so weird. I didn't aim to lose weight, i was just eating less. I would go hours without even thinking about eating. Or I would just eat little bits of food during the day. Food sort of lost it's appeal to me. I knew I had to eat, but geesh, nothing appealed to me. I am still feeling that way. My husband has taken over most of the cooking, because I just don't care what I eat. My taste is running towards bland lately. Chicken soup, pudding, jello, toast, bagels, eggs, rice cereal, bananas, milk. How strange is this? I don't even want to go to a buffet, too much food, too many choices....makes me nuts.

I'm sure this is hormone related too. I never had anything like this before. Never.

janeann

YES I LOST OVER THIRTY POUNDS LAST YEAR OVER THE ANXIETY AND DEPESSION I GOT WITH THIS MESS. AND NOW I AM GRADUALLY GAINING IT BACK BECAUSE OF AD I AM ON. SO EITHER I WANT TO BE HAPPY OR CHUNKY THE CHOICE IS UP TO ME. LOL

I also dropped 25 pounds because of anxiety and panic brought on by menopause. I have gained 8 or 9 of it back...and am happy here, hope I can maintain it...but I am also on an AD, which sometimes causes weight gain. Oh well....I would rather be fat and happy than skinny and anxious any day!!

I second that Floater........Fat and happy and healthy any day over skinny and miserable.....

I also lost a mega amount of weight when peri hit me head on 2 years ago from the terrible debilitating anxiety I suffered at the beginning of it. Since being on an AD I have also gained much of it back but I'm feeling way better in myself but I must admit I did like the skinnier body but I wasn't well enough at the time to appreciate it, ho hum......

Rox

I too lost about 15 pounds when "peri" came a calling a year and a half ago. (Seems like forever ago now). I too would have rather kept the weight and foregone the "anxiety" that helped shed it that is for sure. Constant questions about how I lost it and how "good" I looked, unfortunately didn't help. I should have been able to accept the compliments, but knew that I was "shaking like a leaf inside" waiting for the anxiety to hit again. Not really the best diet advice to give people.
I then got worried that I was too much weight and looked for some horrific medical reason as to why, always asking if I looked "too thin". It really had me buggin' out for a while there. Now I just try to eat as healthy as I can and exercise and if some of the weight comes back it does................oh well, its a part of life.

I totally agree, MUCH rather be fat, happy and HEALTHY than skinny and nerved up!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good one.

I am so happy to see your post because my very first post on this website was to ask people whether their tastes had changed during peri/meno. I am sorry though that you are having a hard time finding foods that you like!

About a year and a half ago, my taste bugs underwent an entire revolution. Things that I had loved in the past suddenly tasted funny to me. They still do. I used to be a confirmed chocoholic; now I can't stand the taste of it. I used to love any kind of ice cream; now I can take or leave anything but one flavor, and even that I can do without. I hate meat, I hate chicken, and some days, like you, I hate everything.

Unfortunately, in trying to find things to eat that taste good, I have gained weight! Like with you, the simple carbs appeal to me, and that spells disaster for me in the weight department.

I am sure it is all hormones. I remember that certain foods made me feel just awful when I was pregnant.

I wish I had a better answer. But I really empathize.

Very best,
Marcy

Dear Marcy and the Menosisters here,
Not only did I lose my appetite, I tried an AD and it made me so nauseated, I couldn't stand it. So the AD did not work for me. I couldn't tolerate feeling nauseated 24/7.
It has been hard because food I previously loved, I can no longer 'handle'....things like fresh tomatoes, oj, chili, tomato soup, big salads with lots of veggies and on and on. So, those foods I have to eat in minute quantities. I have to be so careful. I used to love my one diet pepsi a day and now, can take it or leave it. Really weird.

Wow, who knew this would happen?

And Marcy, I understand the taste buds going amuck.

One day at church, a fellow worshiper asked me if I had been really sick because I had gotten "so thin". I felt bad about that. I am not trying to diet, I just can't eat like I used to.

Thanks gals for sharing.

janeann

a few years ago when the insomnia was raging i dropped over 10 lbs even though i was eating normally. people were constantly coming up to me & asking me if i was sick. this past several months i've gained over 10 lbs, without changing anything.

i do get weird taste changes that come & go, usually brief so far.

Liz,
I went through the same thing, lost 40 pounds rapidly at the beginning and then gradually gained it all back, most of it at least. But I would rather be happy and able to eat and enjoy life, than anxious, depressed, and shaky mess that can't stomach more than few bites of food at a time. So, I would rather be plump too but feel good than skinny and miserable.

Hugs,
I.

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this stinks! this IBS is really acting up today, to say the least about this insane anxiety ... and the thing is, I seem to be still loosing weight. It's NOT drastic, i mean, i don't look SKINNY (in a way i wish i did, but like the rest of you, I would rather be fat and HAPPY than this horrible anxiety!), but I can easily see i've SOMEHOW slimmed down! I think the thing that gets my mind going into fear of why i could be loosing it, is because i'm not doing anything to loose it PURPOSELY. So, then, you begin to think whacko things, like stomach cancer! geez, .. has anyone else here thought they had that? I hope I' m not alone in that.

So, hormones ALONE can cause weight loss? I guess that's what I'm wondering. Now, from what I can ascertain from you guys here, it's the ANXIETY that causes the weight loss, brought on by hormonal changes. I can certainly relate to the anxiety part, and yes, that's true, anxiety can definately cause weight loss. I'm just wondering however, if hormonal shifts can cause weight loss BY ITSELF????? Bec. i know that the hormones seem to control EVERYTHING anyway. I've tried researcing that on the net, but so far, i can't really find any specific answer to that.

What worries me ladies, is that, you all seem to say that you had this weight loss in the BEGINNING, when peri first hit you.
Now, see, I am now going into my second full year of peri, and NOW is when this is happening, it didn't happen in the BEGINNING, like most of you. Do you think that matters? Last Jan. (of '07) when peri hit me SO HARD out of the blue, I began having wild symptoms, but not weight loss...this is only starting now. But,then again, these past few weeks haven't been good, i mean, between my family having picked up some kind of "something" when we ate at Boston Market a few weeks ago....oh man, our intestines haven't been the same since!!!! Plus, i know there has been this intestinal "bug" hanging around now for awhile, and from what I'm getting from friends, this hangs on, so, maybe that's part of it too, i don't know.

thank God, I can come here, and vent all my fears, I feel like a basket case these days! Emotionally, i was doing alright there for a while, and then a few weeks ago, POW! back to laying in bed, pulling up the covers, and thiniking all the worst! this really is awful, and i don't know how women did all this before, when there was no internet to be able to talk to others in the same situation, or look up info. for yourself, ... I mean, even today, the medical community doesn't want to give peri the validity it deserves....can you imagine years ago?!!!!


ladies, thank you for being there! I'd be lost without this place! sincerly, mydarling

Absolutely - in the beginning I too lost 15 pounds because of anxiety, dizziness and nausea. I have gained almost all of it back (unforunately) but I sure am glad I feel better than I did in the beginning of all of this. Wow, we all have such similar stories - Amazing!!

i have lost 38 lbs since last fall. it seems it was all due to anxiety and depression. i also thought that i had stomach problems which was really a side effect of the depression and anxiety. i am on AD now and my appetite came back right away.
if anyone can tell me about how long the anxiety and depression will last--i'd love to know.

my darling...I didn't lose the weight at the beginning of peri, but at the end. After going 6 months without periods, THAT is when I got slammed into the proverbial brick wall!! But it was because of being anxious, having panic, being dizzy, lightheaded, disconnected...and this after having had to deal with some pretty horrendous life stress (3 family deaths, kids with heart problems, etc). I had NO appetite, hardly ate at all for 2 months!

disco mamma, I think we would all like to know how long this lasts!!

when all of my symptoms started around 3 years ago, I made an effort to change my eating habits and encourage healthy eating....I lost weight anyway because of the unrelenting anxiety over my marriage situation, but even when that eased a little I found I could eat like a pig and not gain weight, which worried me somewhat!....

Now I still can't put weight on, and wonder if its because I have IBS like problem and not sleeping very well most of the time...at least I'm not losing it, and can honestly say this is my perfect weight for my height and small bones (I am 109lbs and 5ft 2")....I do still worry that if a major crisis' hits I don't have any excess to rely on!

Worry, worry. worry......STOP WORRYING GIRL!!!