questions

Sweettart,
I have little data on the interaction between recovering dieters and the menopausal changes that often occur during those years.  This is because people don’t generally report their specific menopause-related experiences over these years to me and it is impossible to judge in individual cases what effect body controlled eating has on bodies undergoing hormone changes during this period, as opposed to the effect of the Feast or Famine Cycle.  We do know that body controlled eating minimizes maladaptive fat accumulation.
I have observed that naturally thin women in general tend to gain weight (mostly in their midsections) during the menopausal years.  This is a very common complaint from women who have never had a weight problem and have never dieted a day in their lives.  This is not obesity-type weight, but usually an increase in waist measurement by a few inches.  It appears that this increase in fat is adaptive, since it is almost universal.  Even Cher gained 25 pounds during menopause!
Normal eating is bound to help with the symptoms of menopause which many women experience.  It only makes sense that a body well-fed on high quality food will struggle less than one going without food much of
the time.
Women don’t “have to” do anything with their diets during this period.  If they do gain weight, they are certainly free to “do something” to manage this.  I just kept eating well, and I did gain some weight, but not enough to make me change my diet.  My diet was fine. 
I believe that body controlled eating is the answer.
Hormone replacement therapy can and does in some individuals promote weight gain.  Other medications can too.
What I have noticed is this women struggle enough during peri-menopause without having to fight against their bodies’ need for adequate quality food.
Sincerely,
Jean Antonello

Thanks Jean for your insightful comments. Eating well and on time does seem to be the ticket to weight and hormonal control. You see some of these celebrities who “breeze” through their menopausal years (late 40s/early 50s) as stick figures. Exercise and diet torture must be involved for many to keep themselves that way. And possibly lipo. It’s a shame that North American Society has little to no respect for how a woman’s body normally ages.

Did you ever lose the weight you gained during menopause?

I have it in my head that you have worked with a few women with decades long dieting/famine experiences who adopted the NT program in their POST menopausal years. What kind of success have they reported?

I asked the original question forgetting that my mother is a naturally thin person. 4 kids, no real diet history and a size 2 figure for most of her life. She gained a few pounds AFTER menopause (she still seemed skinny skinny during the change) mainly in her stomach and hips and at her current age of 63, fits into sizes 2 and 4.  Unfortunately, I did not inherit her low famine sensitivity - I’m moderately famine sensitive with mild PCOS and a former but long and painful diet history.

Thanks in advance for your comments

answers

Hi everybody,
I am losing weight very gradually now.
Postmenopausal women can and do recover from decades of dieting.  I have witnessed some of these recoveries and they are all unique, as are the recoveries of all individuals.  Bodies are all different and people are different.  Each person applies these principles in her own special way. I have outlined the general stages of recovery in my books and given case studies.  These examples apply generally to all people because all people share the adaptive potential to recover from intermittent famines.  This potential is never lost with age or changing hormones.
Some women do not lose weight soon enough for their expectations and go back to dieting.
As I have pointed out before, many people say they are applying the NT principles when they are not.  When they continue to have symptoms of the FF Cycle and do not lose weight, they argue that the principles are wrong or don’t apply to them.
It is so important to decide whether or not you truly want to recover, and whether or not you are willing to do what it takes.  Most people in our diet crazed culture are not willing to work so hard over time. 
Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who want to lose weight may have to eat better quality food than their younger, often more active, counterparts.  More attention to vegetables and fruits, whole grains, quality protein, etc.  Also avoiding evening eating.  And these are the same recommendations for people who are highly famine sensitive. 
Remember, the goal of recovery is a normal relationship with food.

I have a stand partner who is 60 and has been dieting all her life.  Last year she lost 40 pounds, just ‘cutting down on portions’.  She bought all new clothes.  Last week she confided in me that she is beginning to gain and is terrified because this has happened her whole life.  (She does not know what I do.  We are in a choir together.) She is truly afraid and senses that she is losing control.  We all know what’s coming, and there’s nothing she can do to stop it.
Anyone want to go back to dieting? 
Sincerely,
Jean Antonello