The Workout or the Food?

[antbuko]

Originally Posted by Demeris

By the way, I'm finally on the other side of menopause, and my body (except for wrinkles and menses) has begun to act more like it did before perimenopause.

Me too!!! I've been sleeping better than I have in YEARS.

[macska]

For me, both. Last summer I had rotator cuff surgery, an I was not allowed to exercise for about 10 weeks at all, just some very low intense elliptical. I ate the same, weighted the same but I lost all my muscles and I felt like a big piece of flab, really horrible. So my conclusion is that eating is important to maintain my weight but resistance training - not cardio - that makes me look different. Thank God Im back to my weights and kettlebells, though not that heavy yet. Finally I started to feel good again! We need muscles!!!!

[mle777]

Originally Posted by FirmDancer

Neither. For me, 100% focus is stress reduction.

Yes! This and sleep! I think everyone automatically goes to the diet or exercise debate and forgets that stress management and sleep are just as important (if not more important) than the diet and exercise factors.

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Originally Posted by Demeris

When I was 35, I was eating 1400 calories a day (I wrote everything down) and running 3-5 miles every day. I couldn't drop those last 15 pounds. When I complained, my doctor did a caliper test and told me that I had too much body fat. He gave me a sheet with how to keep your calories under 1500 and to get more exercise.

That was a major turning point for me in my attitude about calories in/calories out. Unfortunately, it took 15 more years and countless hours of research (sifting through abstracts and variables that had no relation to me) before I hit on what was right for me. Our bodies are wonderfully complex, and our hormonal balance and its relation to nutrition makes me wish for a simple in/out equation.

By the way, I'm finally on the other side of menopause, and my body (except for wrinkles and menses) has begun to act more like it did before perimenopause.

That last paragraph is good to hear!

I think it also depends on how much weight we're talking about. I think it can be tougher when we're really just talking about 5-10lbs.

Certainly the article zenbelly posted can be a great (and entertaining!) tough love wake-up call. There are certainly times in my life when I just needed to really be more honest about my intake.

[Demeris]

Originally Posted by antbuko

Me too!!! I've been sleeping better than I have in YEARS.

AmEN, sister. The bestest part of being done with menopause is the sleep!

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Originally Posted by Demeris

AmEN, sister. The bestest part of being done with menopause is the sleep!

Oh Lord, hasten the day!

[Michele S]

Originally Posted by Nuggie's Auntie

Oh Lord, hasten the day!

Please!!!

[Jane P.]

This isn't the original article I read, but here is a link about 90 minutes a day to lose weight. Even this article recommends you watch you food intake.

http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/9...ght-15571.html

[aspidistra]

I know they say 80% diet and 20% exercise but I can't say that is true for me. If I don't exercise I get fat, plain and simple. I can be on a strict diet and stay 20 lbs overweight, unless I work out. I'm sure this is not true of everybody but I have the genetics to be fat so I must exercise. When I am maintaining my good figure by working out most every day, I can eat pretty much a normal diet and not gain weight. Whereas if I diet but sit all day, I lose what fitness I had. I've tried it every which way and if I give up exercise, say for an injury or illness, in a few weeks I will have gained one or two sizes. Of course the amount and type of food does matter. But all things being equal, if I could only do one, diet or exercise, I would exercise and I feel it would be healthier than dieting and not moving.

[Negin]

Originally Posted by topfitmama

after a while, I realize I feel a lot better when I eat more fruits and vegetables, more whole foods and less processed, sugared junk.
Perhaps changing the focus from "dieting" to "making better choices" might help.

I make very healthy choices most of the time. I juice veggies most days. I eat fruits and lots of salads. I seldom eat processed rubbish. I feel fine. The weight won't come off unless if I pretty much starve myself. I don't eat tons. It seems that I have to eat much less with each passing year .

Originally Posted by Demeris

I would love to dive head first into a peanut buster parfait, but the consequences to my health are too severe. It would take me a week to recover.

Me too, but it's not as if I eat that way most of the time. I treat myself on rare occasions. Seriously. The whole thing truly blows.

Originally Posted by Pat58

I used to be a very intense exerciser (younger, no health issues) and that was when I was in my best shape. I could eat more with those power step classes and heavy weight workouts! However - it had to be good nutrition. Pastries, cakes, etc. slapped weight back on me like nobody's business.

I was also a very intense exerciser when I was younger - daily running, etc. I could eat what I wanted and not gain, yet most of my choices have been super-healthy all my life.
Like you, I also exercise moderately now, due to injuries, etc. For me, just eating moderately doesn't seem to cut it. It helps when it comes to maintenance, but not actual loss. My body seems to plateau more and more as I get older.

Originally Posted by at120

The opposite isn't necessarily true. You can diet and lose tons of weight. You can diet until you're a stick -- literally -- if you fast long (and severely) enough. However, your muscle mass drops dramatically as muscle is burned off while you starve, your energy level drops to zero as your body starts trying to figure out how to conserve calories, and you will look absolutely terrible.

Yep. I've experienced this.

Originally Posted by Jane P.

There was an article in Health Magazine about 5 years ago that I wish I'd kept. It said that to lose fat without dieting, a minimum of 90 minutes a day, every day, of cardio exercise was necessary.
This is also an area where most men differ from women. I think many of them can lose fat from exercise alone. Age also makes a difference, I used to be able to lose fat without dieting when I was in my 20s and 30s. Now it's 100% diet.

I wish you could find that article! Oh, how I would love to be able to lose without dieting. I'd be willing to forgo many things and to workout for 90 minutes a day. I wonder if easier cardio would help - 90 minutes of Leslie/Hamelin D'Abell, for example. I wonder if I should give this a shot. Oh, I do so wish I had that article!

Originally Posted by Nuggie's Auntie

NO. When you're 25, maybe just cutting calories works, but as I get older, it doesn't. It just doesn't.
I'm perimenopausal and I've just accepted this is where my body is happy being right now. To anyone who tells me, 'no! You can get back to where you were when you were 25! Just meticulously count your calories' I have no kind words... and so, I shall hold my peace!

This is gold. So true. There's no way on God's green earth that I'll get back to where I was when I was 25.

Originally Posted by Jane P.

This isn't the original article I read, but here is a link about 90 minutes a day to lose weight. Even this article recommends you watch you food intake.
http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/9...ght-15571.html

Thank you for this, Jane.

If anyone has any diet suggestions, please feel free to PM me. I'm not in a good place when it comes to all that. I eat healthy, but I'm an emotional eater and there's little I can do about all the stress that never seems to end/ease up. I can't seem to be able to stick to any diet, due to all the stress.