this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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Ok guys, I'm about to tell you a story. Maybe a bit of tmi but I don't care because I'm an open book and I'm honest. During my 20s I was working, always on my feet, fit healthy 54 kgs.
Then while I was pregnant at 29 I weighed in at over 80 kgs plus. I say plus because I couldn't see the scales because of my stomach. I was continually hungry. There was no off button.
Anyway, I had my baby. She was 2.7 kgs so the fat was all me. Then during my 30s I got down to 70 kgs just from ordinary living. Then last year things changed.
I stepped on the scale and I'm at my heaviest (apart from pregnancy) at 78 kgs. Shit how did I get to this? I'm not lazy nor sluggish. Well 2 things really. 1. I stopped walking my daughter to school once she started high school. That's 30 minutes a day that I no longer do. 2. I fucking loved snacking while watching the telly when everyone went to bed.
My turning point was if I don't do something soon perimenopause is gonna kick my arse. I refuse to do that. What am I gonna do?
Stop snacking at night. If I'm hungry I'll eat the cucumbers, celery or fruit. I'll go to bed before the hungry happens.
Walk to the shops with my backpack and pick up and carry my dinner home or take my dog for more walks with weights in my backpack.
Start strength training. This was suggested to me by my husband who pointed out just a few reps encourages weightloss when I'm at rest.
Continue to eat what I want just a little less of the occasional foods.
Buy a walking pad and actually use it. If I don't feel like it I still get on and see where it goes. Once I'm on I usually do 30 minutes anyway.
I try to aim for half my plate being veg, a quarter of protein and a quarter of carbs with some fat sprinkled in there.
If I'm gonna have something unhealthy then I make sure to eat healthy the rest of the day. I DO NOT DENY MYSELF ANYTHING.
I'm down to 72 kgs. My aim is 60 kgs by the time I'm 50 (June next year). It's slow but I've barely changed anything. My weight is going down, my strength is going up, my stamina is going up, my smoking is going down.
I wrote this not for congratulations. I wrote this to show you are not alone. I wrote this to show you do not need to go hard. I especially wrote this for anyone who is struggling, don't know where to start or thinks it's too hard. I have family and friends who are really encouraging. Not everyone has that so I want to be your person who encourages and celebrates the wins. AMA.
I think I just wrote an essay.
Thankyou for telling this to us. You sound like you've got your goals in good order. I've been on my own fitness journey for the last (almost year?) I seem to recall when this daily thread first started up I was doing a daily fitness post. I stopped at one point due to ex/relationship issues and problems with time and life balance. I've started again due to the fitness chat channel that was started in one discord server I'm in. Everyone gradually fell out until it was just me and this other woman living near Atlanta Georgia. We basically are the weight thread now lol, with us at opposite ends of the world and opposite day/night. We do a weekly weigh-in where we post our gains or losses and talk about the hows and whys. We had all sorts of odd things in common and we just clicked. We're both 50+ ladies working heavy manual jobs looking to pursue better fitness, with weight loss as a bonus. We're both already physically active and strong but overweight and menopausal, which has it's own challenges. We've tried different things and shared our progress and really spurred each other on. I've managed to build muscle and lose 8kgs since I started. I spend some spare time looking for exercises which which can be done anywhere, any time, are easy for strong hefty women to do and won't trash my joints (my knees and wrists are buggered, and a lot of these skinny little things buzzing around on social media have no idea what it's like for a 90+kg woman with dicky knees and a bodgy back trying to exercise, and it shows in their exercises). I've been working on a routine that suits me and basically does the job and makes me feel good. It's a work in progress, as are we all! Good on you for identifying potential for positive change!
Yeah. I could do without the hot flushes and the random achy body parts. I guess we're all on the same leaky boat.
Thanks for sharing. Sounds like me (without the baby). I have started taking it seriously again this year to get to mid 60s this year. Started well but been sick and inflamed and swollen so the few kgs I lost have come back. Was feeling really down about it but this really helped. πͺπ»π
Looks like a few of us ladies need to be each other's cheer squads. β€οΈ
This is great advice and I feel like Iβm in this category too. A lot of health and fitness info is so harsh - eat lettuce and do sweaty workouts 5 times a weeks. Iβm uninterested in anyone yelling at me in boot camp or never eating a carb again. I would resent it and it be miserable. I agree sustainability is key. Iβve lost 2.5kg since January. That might seem like slow progress but Iβm aiming to loose 8 to get to my βregularβ weight, so I reckon thatβs ok. I still eat pasta and chocolate. Just less. Iβm also thinking of getting a walking pad as the next step, but was worried about motivation. But Iβll try.
This is beautiful and perfect. The things I hate the most are hearing someone say
For dinner I eat grilled fish or chicken with a salad. bitch please. Do you eat that every night because if you do I'm gonna throw the salt & pepper shakers at you
If you feel like ice cream just swap it for low fat yogurt and fruit. It's not the same. Stop it.
You can eat chocolate. Make sure it's 70% dark chocolate and have 2 squares. Who the fuck does that. I'm eating half of the biggest block I can find and then I'm gonna eat the rest the next day.
Good luck to anyone who does this because I sure can't.
Fully endorse this plan of attack. Being all martyrdom & misery does NOT help. It's not a competition.
You're absolutely right.
This sounds a lot like me. Hopefully in the future I'll have some success of my own to share too. I've always struggled with weight, but the peri-menopause hormal changes have really heaped on extra struggle in the last few years which has been a bit discouraging.
Thanks for sharing your story, it does help π
You gotta find what works for you is all. I found tweaking rather than changing things is what works for me.
Also I do weigh myself but it's seeing results in the tape measure that excites me more. For anyone who doesn't know, measuring your waist every week will tell you whether you're losing fat or not.
A healthy male should measure 94cm or less and for female it's 80cm or less.
last week my doc said I could lose 5 kg and see significant benefits, achievable goals π
and I still do at least 3 big walks/hikes a week down the rough beach
I have the vegetarian meal replacement stuff, I just need to get my brain into gear to do that
I hope my post inspires you as you do for me and you continue doing what you need to do to better yourself everyday.
I'm so tired π£
I would imagine you are. π«
Take some time out. Wait until you get your allergies sorted then reassess. One step at a time.