Weight loss

I would suggest a qualified nutritionist who doesn't just use the "calories in, calories out" method, nor thinks drugs are the answer - they are not. While weight gain/ difficulty losing weight are 'common' in middle age, they are symptoms of a bigger problem, so I'd suggest running some testing as well. The company Integrative Wellness works virtually and does a great job getting to the root of it; they helped me tremendously. inwella.com 

Hi, 

I could have written this post myself. Talk to your doctor about compounded tirzepatide or google it (lots of telehealth providers are offering this service). It has been life changing for me as I am also in my forties, working out regularly and eating healthy and this has finally helped me shed the weight. And scientist are finally realizing that weightloss in not just ‘calories in, calories out’ and there is more to it, especially with hormones as we get older. 

I’m sorry — no good answer for your first question but for the second, I encourage you to consider working with a functional medicine doctor or someone similar. They can help find the root cause of not being able to lose weight so that you can keep it off in the long term. Best of luck!

I highly recommend a program called Best Body. I found Rachel Paul on Instagram and have a lot of respect for the uniqueness of the program- a combination of education and mindset work about how to actually incorporate healthy eating for a lifetime, and a database of very simple recipes. It takes some investment to learn the strategies and map out your “protocol” but I’ve found it very rewarding and convincing that I can sustain it long- term. I found I needed to look at food more closely since having a kid and getting older- and I think if I had just done prepared meals for a while it wouldn’t be lasting change. She also talks a lot about exercise and how heavier activity can actually spike hunger and make weight loss harder. There’s a lot of support to start to learn what works for your body (and some people join with or after Ozempic type meds to help sustain). 

Have you been tested for hypothyroidism?

It often presents around menopause.

I went to BrightBody in El Cerrito to get my diet where it needs to be. Most of their clients are there for help with weight management. I was there for help with my blood sugar. They do prescribe weight loss medication to some patients, but their method focuses primarily on lifestyle nutrition. 

I couldn't be happier with Dr. Stoop and the team at BrightBody. Dr. Stoop is an expert on nutrition, weight management and metabolism. Everything they do is rooted in metrics. They have a 3D body scanner in their office so you can see all of the changes you're making to your body including fat, muscle, posture and balance. They will provide a list of foods that do/don't work for this method of weight loss. There are also sample menus and suggestions for what to order at restaurants. It's hard, but they have supplements that help to manage hunger and cravings through the transition. They don't provide meals, but they will help you figure out simple meals that work with your busy schedule. 

Also, you may want to get an air fryer! It's the fastest and most delicious way to eat loads of veggies. I also have a protein shake once a day. When I'm busy, I'll grab a prepackaged shake and move on with my day. 

I had no idea how my sugar addiction was affecting my overall health, including my energy, sleep and mental functioning. I eat a low carb diet now and have no trouble sticking to it because I'm no longer craving sugar. I'm not hungry. My health markers are great and my weight is ideal. I have maintained my new lifestyle for 10 months and am confident I'm going to keep eating this way, because I'm genuinely happier without invasive sugar cravings making me feel out of control or guilty. I still eat sugar on true special occasions, but not 3-5x a week like I was doing. 

Congratulations on embarking on this journey. You're doing something amazing for yourself and your family. 

Overeaters Anonymous worked for me.  For it to be effective, you really have to go to meetings, the more the better.  And you have to "work" the program, meaning find a sponsor who wants you to call him/her daily.  Finally, you have to have the ability to be honest with yourself.  Not sure outsourcing this would have worked for me.  But I've been abstinent for over 30 years, so for me, the program was a success.

I can totally relate to this! I’m in my late 40s and the weight is so hard to come off! Especially hard after getting a c-hysterectomy with my last 3 years ago. I found exercise didn’t help much initially it just made me more hungry! I also tried wegovy for a week.  I found it blunted my emotions and I felt really depressed so I stopped taking it.  Since then I have been tracking my calories on an app called “Healthi” I try to eat the same things every day for breakfast and lunch chicken, eggs, vegetables and protein shakes and have whatever I want at dinner but try to make healthy choices.  limited my fruit intake to no more than 1/day as I’ve found I am very sensitive  to sugar.  I also started on thyroid medication since I was found to be hypothyroid.  Lastly I cut my alcohol intake to no more than 1-2 drinks/ week instead of my nightly glass or two or three!  with dinner.  All these changes and I  started to see progress but it is slow.  Total weigh loss has been 65 lbs over 2 years.  I still have 25 lbs to go to be in a healthy range.  I hope some of this helped feel free to reach out iif you’d like support! 

This is a very relatable post. I wanted to share more experience using weight loss drugs as a woman in her late 30s with one child and how I think about this decision. 

Depending on your current weight and based on your goal of losing 40 pounds, it sounds like you may be looking to lose 20-25% of your body weight. I'm not aware of any diet/exercise-based lifestyle intervention that accomplishes a 20-25% loss of body weight in a large-scale population for a meaningful amount of time (multiple years). Most diets are shown to reduce body weight by up to 5% and are not shown to do so for more than one year. 

I share this because I was raised to believe that diets and regular exercise are an effective way to control body weight. It was an ah-ha moment for me when I encountered research showing no diet program has ever been able to substantially reduce body weight in a large group of people for multiple years.  I really like the work of Ragen Chastain (find her on substack) to understand the data behind diet research and I love the podcast Maintenance Phase to understand the social history of weight loss. 

The new class of weight loss drugs is shown to reduce body weight by up to 15% (for Ozempic) or 20% (for Mounjaro) in clinical trials and less than that in non-clinical settings (where patients don't have all the benefits and monitoring of a clinical trial). The reduction in body weight does not continue after the medication is stopped.

I started semaglutide (a compounded or non-branded form of Ozempic) about 15 months ago and found it to be an effective option for me. I got my prescription through an online clinic (www . semaglutideforweightloss . com) after a short telehealth visit. This was an inexpensive way to access the medication but did not provide any support or guidance (which would have been great and I would recommend to anyone who can afford it).

I lost about 10% of my body weight (from a BMI of 25 to 22) in 7 months and have maintained it since. I was worried about GI side effects, but that hasn't been a meaningful challenge for me. I find I don't feel well mixing this medication with alcohol, so I have had to give that up (which is not an altogether bad thing). I do find myself more easily fatigued when using this drug, which is a problem with a full-time job and a small child. 

I sometimes consider stopping semaglutide for this reason. I am aware that if I do, I can't reasonably expect to maintain a lower body weight - it's generally just not possible from a statistical perspective. 

Looks like you've gotten a lot of responses, it such a common struggle. For me, after years of attempting various diets, I finally found success with intermittent fasting. I recommend Gin Stephens or Jason Fung's books. Personally, I started working 1-1 with a fasting coach, and I've lost 30 lbs since January. Having a coach though really helped me tweak and return as vacations, illnesses, or whatever got me off track along the way. But it's the easiest lifestyle change, I'm just shortening the duration of time I eat, and doing my best to eat nutritious food in my eating window. 

If you think 1-1 or group coaching could support you - here's my coaches website https://fastforwardwellness.com - personally I couldn't have gotten to where I am without her. I needed the accountability and support.